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RESOLUTION NO. 2018-060 OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA ADOPTING A LIST OF PROJECTS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018-19 FUNDED BY SB 1: THE ROAD REPAIR AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2017 (RMRA)
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RECOMMENDED ACTION
Recommended Action
Council adopt the resolution.
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SUMMARY
Pursuant to the Streets and Highways Code (SHC) Section 2034(a)(1), prior to receiving an apportionment of RMRA funds from the State Controller in a fiscal year, a city must submit to the Commission a list of projects proposed to be funded with these funds. Staff is requesting that the City Council approve the City’s RMRA Project List for Fiscal Year 2018-19.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Environmental Notice
Environmental Notice
The Project qualifies for a Class 1 Categorical Exemption pursuant to Section 15301 (Existing Facilities) of the California Environmental Quality Act State Guidelines.
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Environmental Determination
The Director of Development Services has reviewed the proposed project for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that the project qualifies for a Class 1 Categorical Exemption pursuant to Section 15301 (Existing Facilities) of the State CEQA Guidelines. Thus, no further environmental review is required.
BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION
Not applicable.
DISCUSSION
The Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017 (SB1 Beall) established the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account (RMRA) which provided new funds to cities and counties throughout California to use for street maintenance and rehabilitation.
Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account (RMRA)
The Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017 (SB1 Beall) increases per gallon fuel excise taxes, diesel fuel sales taxes and vehicle registration taxes, stabilizes the fuel tax rates and provides for inflationary adjustments to rates in future years.
RMRA local streets and roads allocations are intended to be used to improve the overall condition of the municipality’s pavement condition. Once an average Pavement Condition Index (PCI) of 80 is achieved, other transportation related projects could be proposed. The City of Chula Vista’s PCI is currently 74, but with additional funding associated with Measure P and traditional TransNet funding, the PCI is anticipated to improve in the coming years. In order to continue to improve the city average PCI, the proposed project list for FY2018-19 consists of critical arterial and collector streets with low PCI (Attachment 1). This complements the improvements being made to residential streets with the Measure P funding.
Required Annual Authorization
The RMRA has specific reporting requirements specifically, “prior to receiving RMRA funds in a fiscal year, a city or county must submit to the California Transportation Commission (CTC) a project list pursuant to an adopted budget. The list must include for each project: description, location, schedule and useful life.” The list along with a Council resolution of approval is due to the CTC by May 1, 2018.
The RMRA estimate for FY2018-19 is $4,492,748 which will be programmed with the upcoming adoption of the City’s FY2018-19 CIP Program. As mentioned, the RMRA project list for FY2018-19 consists of critical arterial and collector streets and is included as Attachment 1.
The RMRA also requires that cities and counties submit an annual report of project completion for projects funded by the RMRA. The annual report will provide details on the projects completed to date and any updates to the original listing.
Maintenance of Effort: RMRA [Streets and Highways Code Sec. 2036]
The RMRA contains a local agency maintenance of effort (MOE) requirement that applies to funds allocated through the RMRA. Similar to the existing requirements for the Gas Tax and TransNet, the MOE requirement ensures that these new funds do not supplant existing levels of city and county general revenue spending on streets and roads. For RMRA, cities and counties must maintain general fund spending for street, road, and highway purposes at no less than the average of 2009-10, 2010-11, and 2011-12 fiscal years, excluding one-time funds. The RMRA MOE for Chula Vista is $4,515,412 (Attachment 2). The City anticipates meeting the MOE requirement for FY2018-19.
The State Controller may perform audits to ensure compliance with these MOE rules. If the State Controller determines that a city or county has not met its’ MOE, the agency will be required to reimburse the state for the funds it received during that fiscal year, although the agency may expend during that fiscal year and the following fiscal year a total amount that is sufficient to comply. Any funds withheld or returned as a result of a failure to comply will be reapportioned to the other counties and cities whose expenditures are in compliance.
Due to this requirement, a separate account has been established for RMRA within the Gas Tax fund.
DECISION-MAKER CONFLICT
Staff has reviewed the property holdings of the City Council members and has found no property holdings within 500 feet of the boundaries of the property which is the subject of this action. Consequently, this item does not present a disqualifying real property-related financial conflict of interest under California Code of Regulations Title 2, section 18702.2(a)(11), for purposes of the Political Reform Act (Cal. Gov’t Code §87100,et seq.).
Staff is not independently aware, and has not been informed by any City Council member, of any other fact that may constitute a basis for a decision maker conflict of interest in this matter.
LINK TO STRATEGIC GOALS
The City’s Strategic Plan has five major goals: Operational Excellence, Economic Vitality, Healthy Community, Strong and Secure Neighborhoods and a Connected Community. The goal of the RMRA Major Pavement Rehabilitation project is to support the Strong and Secure Neighborhood strategy identified in the City’s Strategic Plan. The maintenance and rehabilitation of public infrastructure is a key City function in providing a safe and efficient roadway system for residents, businesses and visitors alike.
CURRENT YEAR FISCAL IMPACT
The RMRA allocations are distributed on a monthly basis beginning on January 1, 2018. Funding of $4,492,748 will be programmed as part of the FY2018-19 CIP Program.
ONGOING FISCAL IMPACT
Upon completion of the project, the improvements will require only routine City street maintenance. Since the improvements are anticipated to increase the life of the streets included, there should be a positive long term fiscal impact.
ATTACHMENTS
1. RMRA Project List for Fiscal Year 2018-19
2. RMRA MOE FY10,11,12
Staff Contact: Patrick Moneda, Senior Civil Engineer