Utah Transportation Commission
July 28, 2000
Price, Utah

The regular meeting of the Utah Transportation Commission, held at the Carbon County Courthouse - County Commission Chambers, 120 East Main Street, Price, Utah, was called to order at 9:00 a.m. by Commission Chairman Glen E. Brown. He welcomed those attending, introduced the Commission members attending, and excused Commissioner Hal Clyde. He also said Dan Eastman’s replacement will be appointed soon.

Approval of Minutes
Commissioner Bodily moved to approve the minutes of the June 23, 2000, Commission Meeting held in Tremonton, Utah. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Wilson and approved.

Local Area Presentation by Region Four
Chairman Brown turned the time over to Commissioner Wilson for the local area presentation and public comments portion of the agenda. The UDOT staff and local elected officials attending were introduced.

Kleston Laws, Price District Director, said the John Atlantic Burr Ferry has passed its annual coast guard inspection. The new ferry will be taken to Wahweep next week, be put back together and in the water by November or December. Mr. Laws then reviewed some of the projects that have been done in his area. Those projects included the White Mesa Hill grade change, the Ridge Road intersection, Columbia Dugway overlay and slope flattening, a rotomill and seal coat through Helper, and installation of signs on Highway 6. He said they have also worked on the flood area on Highway 29 which goes to Joe’s Valley, and rented a small rotomilling machine that has been very successful for them. They have milled off ruts on Highway 6, a few on Highway 10 and other areas that were getting bad. The machine levels the road and takes quite a bit of the hydroplaning out.

Public Comments
Representative Brad King welcomed the Commission to Carbon County. He spoke about Highway 6 and thanked the Commission and UDOT for their involvement in the process they’ve had going the last couple of years. The projects are appreciated and they are having some very positive effects. Fatalities are down significantly this year, which has a lot to do with the new signage as well as the projects themselves. He encouraged the Commission to consider continuing the efforts on Highway 6, as they contemplate the additions for the next year of the STIP, because it is still among the most dangerous places to travel. Rep. King also emphasized the importance of Highway 10 and the additional challenges that will be faced with the changes in the coal hauling. It’s a road that is difficult to maintain, and with the increase of 2.5 million tons of coal being hauled on it, that will really add pressure to the maintenance of the road and the safety of the citizens, especially in the small cities along the highway.

Carbon County Commissioner Michael Milovich also welcomed the Commission to Carbon County. He echoed what Rep. King said, and said he also appreciates the efforts that have been made on Highway 6. The accident rate has decreased somewhat and he also thinks the new signage has helped. The various four lane areas that were added have also been a tremendous help. The area from the Pine Fork at the top of Price canyon to White River desperately needs to be addressed as soon as possible, as there are still major accidents happening there. The four lane expansion from Price to Wellington is a priority because of the number of traffic miles being traveled on that road. Also, the turnoff from Highway 6 to the asphalt and gravel pits is still creating a major hazard, and getting that done would be a welcome addition to the county. Additionally, it would be nice to have some sort of planning done to alleviate the problems in the area just past the Skyview bridge where there’s a winding curve through the canyon.

Commissioner Milovich then spoke about the Port of Entry station on Highway 6. He said the truck traffic continues to increase and the bottlenecks at that station are getting worse. He doesn’t understand the logic of keeping that station closed when it should be open. He said just last Monday night, there were 12 or 14 trucks that were pulled off to the side of the road waiting for the station to close. And with the station closing at the same time every day, the truckers know when to go and when not to go. There needs to be more supervision or control over the trucking that goes through there because there are some trucks that don’t belong on the road that are overweight or unsafe. And, with the advent of the new mine in the East Carbon area and the increased heavy truck traffic entering and exiting the intersection to East Carbon, that intersection desperately needs to have lighting installed. Commissioner Milovich said in talking to Councilmember Olsen, they have tentatively come up with a plan for the overpass at the Helper Intersection, and he looks forward to a solution on that down the road. Another issue of concern mentioned is the commitment that was made for an increase in the highway patrol presence in the canyon. That has not occurred and he would like to see that presence increased. One thing that did seem to help reduce the speeds on the highway was the computer generated speed sign that showed people how fast they were going. Commissioner Milovich suggested putting one of those on each end of the red narrows. He also mentioned that with the problems of air quality in Utah County and the affect that may have on the funding of projects, if that were to happen, they wouldn’t be adverse to having some of those funds transferred to Highway 6. And as a final note, in speaking to a prospective client who was looking to locate in the Carbon County area, the number one concern of that client was Highway 6, and whether or not he wanted to put his employees in jeopardy when traveling that highway. When Highway 6 starts to become an impediment to economic growth, then something needs to be done.

Chairman Brown said Commissioner Milovich raised a couple of good issues, and would like to get a better understanding of them. Director Warne said in regards to the Highway Patrol issue. He said he would check with Commissioner Dearden and find out what happened to money they received as a result of the State of Utah moving federal funds to the DPS safety program. As for the Port of Entry (POE) issue, as the Commission is aware, the Department just constructed a new POE in Echo Canyon, but because of electronics, the automatic vehicle identification and weigh in motion technology that exists today, the Department will build a much different Port of Entry in the future utilizing the technology that is available. In the mean time, at this particular POE on Highway 6, were are no additional FTE’s available to put at that port. The hours could be staggered, which would help until the truckers find out about the new hours. There’s a great communication system in the trucking industry. There is no immediate solution because, again, there are no additional FTE’s available. When this particular POE was built 30 years or so ago, the location probably made a lot more sense because the truck volume was a lot lighter. But with the huge increase in truck traffic, the current location is terrible. If the Department did do another port configuration, it wouldn’t be at that same location.

Kathy Justice said she represents the citizens of Carbon and Emery County. She served on the committee that helped get the signs up on Highway 6. They have also made public comments on Highway 6. She said they appreciate what has been done and the extra money that has been put on the highway. But they will still continue to bring the public awareness into this until the road is completed and brought up to a satisfactory standard that is with the rest of the state. She asked the Commission to keep this on their priority list for more money and more projects until the road is safe and completely four lanes.

Mayor Paul Childs of Wellington City said Highway 6 runs right through the middle of their city, and the traffic through their small city increases each year. There are times when it might 20 minutes to cross Highway 6 at an intersection. Speed is also a big concern. Also, the new four lane project from Price to Wellington ends right where their school zone is. They worry about the safety of their children and citizens, and they’ve had some discussions about what might be done to alleviate the problems there. One possibility is an overpass for children to get through the school zone. Another possibility is taking the traffic off Main Street and diverting it onto some of their side streets by building some roads. But, unfortunately, they are a small city and funding is a big problem. Craig Johansen, Wellington City Engineer briefly spoke about the drainage problems they have on both sides of their community, the concerns they have with the new project terminating at the school crossing, and the possibility of a walkway over the highway.

Commissioner Milovich said he had one more comment about the Port of Entry. He said no one here is requesting that the port be closed. They are asking that it be manned in a more appropriate fashion, and a new port be built at a location either further up the road or further east when funds become available. He wondered about getting a funding request from the legislature to get the port running on a 24 hour basis until a new building at a more adequate location could be built. He said closing the port would be out of the ordinary because it’s a necessary station that is needed to control truck traffic. Director Warne clarified that the Department is not going to close the POE. There’s a lot that can be done from a technology standpoint as opposed to building a new Port of Entry. Echo is probably the last standard POE that the Department will ever build.

Jan Bess said she lives in Ferron. She feels good about what is happening in the canyon and it has changed things quite a bit, but it’s not enough. She’s concerned about funding that has been taken away from Highway 6 saying that last year, $9 million was taken away from the Moark Junction project. Why even take a penny away from Highway 6? Again, she appreciates what has been done, but it’s not enough. In talking about the image of the state, they are part of the state too. There’s a good image in Salt Lake, but there isn’t a good image down here.

Commissioner Wilson asked Mike Miles, Region Four project manager, to take some time and give an update on some of the projects being done on Highways 6 and 10 in this area, and Alan Mecham, Region Three director, to give an update on Highway 6 in his region. Mr. Miles said he knows it seems like there have been a lot of promises as to what’s been done, but it just takes a lot of time to plan projects and get them going. In 2002, there is a $1.7 million project for passing lanes between Wellington and I-70, which includes the East Carbon Junction. Construction will also begin on the Helper interchange, and they will begin the environmental portion of looking at how to widen SR-6 to four lanes from Helper to at least Soldier Summit. Mr. Miles again emphasized that all these processes take time. In concept development for SR-6, there is an $8 million project from Scofield to Pine Tree Park. On SR-10 there is $5 million for passing lanes to improve the situation of the coal haul. He said the Region is trying to involve the communities, the officials, and public from the local areas, in all of the Department’s decisions.

Mr. Mecham said they, too, have a lot of planning taking place. The areas that were identified as potential areas for passing lanes are either constructed, under construction or being designed. The rest of Highway 6 in Region Three, particularly in the Red Narrows area, is going to have to be a major reconstruction project, and will have to wait for Centennial Highway Fund monies to come along in 2-4 years. There is some geotechnical investigation being done in the Red Narrows, but it’s going to be extremely difficult environmentally and monitarily to get four lanes of traffic through that section of highway. In regards to the comment made earlier about money being taken away from Highway 6, the money from the Moark Junction project was restored and then put towards passing lanes on Highway 6. With all the work being done or that has been done, a substantial amount of the canyon in Region Three will be four lanes, the exception being the Red Narrows. There is also a $10 million reconstruction and repaving project that is very needed at Billies Mountain because of deterioration of the subgrade. There was additional discussion regarding intelligent traffic system installations in the canyon, and the affect of the conformity lapse in Utah County. Commissioner Wilson turned the time back over to Chairman Brown.

Pleasant Grove Interchange
Project Update
Mayor Ed Sanderson of Pleasant Grove introduced those attending with him. He said they would like to give the Commission a project update and make a request, and asked Kathleen McMullen from MAG to give the project update. Ms. McMullen said the Pleasant Grove Interchange has been on the long range plan for Mountainlands for about five years now, and was in the planning stages before that. Originally, this project was labeled as being specifically for economic development. However, they would like to paint a different picture today. The emphasis of this interchange has changed over time as the area is experiencing rapid growth. From a regional perspective, this interchange has become very important just for moving traffic in the area. And because of the lapse in conformity, this project is in an unfortunate situation. It is scheduled to begin in 2002 with Centennial funds, but they have been trying to push this project ahead. The cities have been very committed to this, and they’ve committed their own funds to a large extent. Referring to a chart that was displayed, Ms. McMullen reviewed the funding situation. She said there is funding that has gone into the environmental and design work provided by Pleasant Grove City, there is funding from MAG and the State for design, there is also landscaping and right of way funds that have been committed by the cities. They would like to have this project completely through the PS&E before August 15th, which would allow it to proceed even though conformity has lapsed. However, there is a problem. MAG has contributed $3.1 million from their Urban STP funds, the cities have contributed $5 to 6 million, but there is still a shortfall of $3.9 million. The cities are willing to make a commitment to front the money, if there could be some sort of plan for them to be reimbursed. This is a really huge financial obligation for them, and they’ve already committed to provide most of the landscaping costs and $3.5 million for right of way. Because the Centennial funds were out a couple of years, Linda Hull has been working diligently to try and move funding forward so this project could proceed.

Phil Huff, project manager from Region Three, said this project has been very interesting to manage. The documents were completed and signed a year ago and the final review with FHWA was done yesterday. One problem that appeared on Monday was that of a possible threatened endangered species in the area, but that was taken care of yesterday. The project is ready to go to bid and there is nothing holding it back other than the shortage of funding and the right of way commitments, which he has been told is ready to be signed over. Mr. Huff also reviewed the funding scenario and said the latest bid amount is estimated at $14.7 million. There was some confusion about the funding and discussion ensued to clarify the confusion. Director Warne stated if the Commission funds the $3.9 million, then that would be relieving Pleasant Grove and Lindon of their commitment of the $1.7 million fof landscaping. Commissioner Wilson remarked that would then bring the shortfall amount down to $2.2 million. Mayor Sanderson noted this was the #2 project by all the mayors in Utah County. The #1 and #3 projects have both been fully funded, but this one hasn’t been funded and they’ve stepped up to make sure that happens. The problem is they’ve been stretched to the point where they can’t do as much of the infrastructure on the outside that makes this a transportation function. They’re asking for some help to get this done.

Chairman Brown said he’s not sure everyone agrees with what the shortfall amount is. There’s still some question. Chairman Brown asked Ms. McMullen, if this is such a high priority for MAG, is MAG willing to step up and commit future STP funds to this? Ms. McMullen replied the problem is they don’t get very much STP funds, and this represents a really large contribution from their region as a whole. They have funds committed out five years. It might be possible to work something out further than five years, but that’s beyond what they need for the financial commitment right now to get this project grandfathered and able to proceed. She can’t make a commitment without talking to the mayors, but thinks this is a high enough priority they would consider it. Director Warne explained that this project appeared on the Centennial Highway Fund list at the behest of the elected state reps from the area as an $8.5 million project. It was originally committed that the $8.5 million would be the full extent of the state funds, and the local governments would take care of any difference. This essentially comes down to the Commission’s desire to essentially do a bail out. The concern is that there are many other communities that make commitments with the Department all the time, and it puts the Department in an awkward situation when they can’t rely on a community to keep the commitment they’ve made. Then when the next city comes in and sees what was done, it sets a precedence. There was additional discussion regarding development and right of way.

Frank Mills, Pleasant Grove City Community Services Director, said he’s probably the only one from the city that remembers when this thing first came up, and things have changed since then. Micron has decided to start things back up, Traverse Ridge is now coming over the top of the mountain from Draper, and Utah County is starting a development out in that area, so traffic volumes are increasing. The other thing Mr. Mills mentioned is the high loads that have to be rerouted along 7th South into Pleasant Grove because of low bridges over the interstate. He said their hope is that the overpasses could be removed, and have frontage roads designed to handle the traffic.

Director Warne again asked about MAG committing money to this project. He said if the state were to provide some kind of financial bridge, could MAG then step up over an extended period of time? This must be the county’s new #1 unfunded priority, and if in fact it’s that important then some of the other projects in the five year window certainly much be less important. Ms. McMullen said that’s true, and they would need to bump some projects. This is an important project and the mayors may be willing to commit some funds further out on the TIP. It does cramp all the projects in the long range plan though. Most of the projects in the long range plan are under $5 million because there are a number of projects small cities just can’t afford. They’ve earmarked funds to provide that infrastructure so it links in with the state system and provide that connection with the local road. Ms. McMullen said the important thing today is to get some kind of funding commitment in place now from UDOT so the PS&E can be completed, then work out a funding package over time and make sure this project is whole. Additional discussion focused again on the project funding situation, as well as the right of way costs.

Director Warne said this issue really comes down to satisfying the FHWA and making sure there are sufficient funds in place in order to declare the project fully funded before the lapse in conformity. He suggested the Commission approve the allocation of federal funds, sufficient to cover the $3.9 million difference, as there should be enough money from different sources to cover the shortfall. However, the proviso in this proposal would be that prior to going to construction, the communities and MAG would come back to the Commission with their plan of finance to essentially pay the state back. David Gibbs from FHWA noted that the next step of urgency is for this decision to be made, and that the plans are complete and in place. If there are any modifications or elements to be taken out of this project, those decisions need to be made before the project goes out to bid so the contractors know exactly what they are bidding on. Mr. Huff reiterated if they were to pull anything out of the plan and still meet the deadline for August, it’s got to be in the next day or so.

Commissioner Bodily moved to approve the funding of this project, not to exceed $3.9 million, with the proviso that the project not go to construction until there is adequate assurance that the local entities will make up the difference to what UDOT has committed previously, and that a recommended plan of finance be brought back to the Commission in two months. It was seconded by Commissioner Wells and approved.

Zoning Request
Director Warne said this is the first time this has ever happened. Essentially, by law, the cities can pass an ordinance, come to the Commission, and with an affirmative vote by the Commission, can extend the terms of zoning moratoriums for up to two six month periods. Mayor Sanderson of Pleasant Grove said they initiated this request. They applied a temporary zone so they could get a better handle on how this area develops. And because it’s a transportation area and it’s designed around a transportation issue, they have come to the Commission to ask for an additional extension of up to 18 months. They have proceeded with their zoning and planning and are in a position to move ahead, by they haven’t fine tuned it enough to feel comfortable. Lindon City is also in the same position. That’s why they are here asking for a six month extension.

Commissioner Jan Wells moved to approve the request that both Pleasant Grove and Lindon continue their temporary zoning for another six months, based on the consideration of a transportation issue in the area. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Larkin and approved.

Approval of Corridor Preservation Funds
2000 East - Sandy City Request
Pat Casaday, Deputy Mayor of Sandy City said they are asking for $126,000 of transportation corridor preservation funds to preserve some property along 20th East at about 11600 South. It comprises about 1.14 acres. They feel the use of this money in line with the purposes of which the fund was established to preserve state, county and municipal transportation corridors, and to promote long term transportation planning to save on acquisition costs. They also feel this would hold a high priority for distribution of the funds because this area is in a place with rapidly expanding population. Mr. Casaday said this property is currently undeveloped, and if and when the 20th East roadway is built, it would be much better to buy the property now rather than go in and condemn expensive homes later. They do have an access management plan in place and it’s a city wide plan. It’s been incorporated as part of their development code, and it meets the requirement of law. They hope the Commission will grant their request.

Director Warne stated that this is a wise use of these particular funds. It’s the first time a local community has made an attempt to use the money. One concern is that the challenge of building the 20th East corridor grows greater every day, but Sandy City is doing some smart things here by trying to preserve the corridor. Because of the tenuous nature of this particular corridor and whether or not it will actually be built, Director Warne suggested the Commission add a condition to the approval that if the corridor is not built within ten years, Sandy City would reimburse the money to UDOT. Chairman Brown brought up two issues. First, is there a rule that covers a time limit? If not, should one be developed so municipalities know what it is? Second, is Sandy City going to hold title to the property? John Njord, UDOT Deputy Director, said one concern is that those who make this decision today, won’t be around in 20 years making the same decisions. When purchasing property with this fund for local facilities, what will trigger the Department to know the city has actually built the facility and now needs to repay the Department? Director Warne said the Department should buy and hold title to the property until such time as the road is built. Another condition for the motion would be that Sandy City will keep the weeds down on the property, even though UDOT holds title to it. Mr. Njord asked Mr. Casaday if Sandy City’s transportation plan takes into account the 20th East corridor, and if they plan to build it within the next ten years. Mr. Casaday said yes to both questions. He also mentioned that the parcel is 1.82 acres and appraises for $200,000, but only 1.14 acres of that is within the corridor, so they are asking the Commission to only purchase the piece that’s actually in the corridor.

Commissioner Larkin made a motion to authorize the expenditure of $126,000 of the corridor preservation fund for the property in Sandy City, with the conditions as discussed. It was seconded by Commissioner Wilson and approved.

UTA Park and Ride
Linda Hull noted that this is also new ground for the corridor preservation fund. She explained that the Commission will be considering amendments to the WFRC TIP later on. As part of the proposed amendments to the TIP, there were some changes to the CMAQ funding in the current program, and UDOT opposed those changes. Ms. Hull distributed a handout and said the UDOT ATMS program, under the current TIP, had a total of $7.6 million programmed in CMAQ funds, which are programmed by the MPO’s. About a month and a half ago, the Department found out the new TIP amendment would have cut the total amount of funding to the UDOT ATMS program down to $6.9 million, with the additional funds going into the purchase of light rail cars and park and ride lots along the north/south light rail line. There was a strong feeling from WFRC and UTA that they needed to preserve those park and ride lots. The Department sat down with the those agencies and came up with a compromise. The chart shows the proposed UDOT ATMS program would still get $2.9 million in the current year, would get $2 million instead of $1 million in FY 01, would get $1 million in FY 02, and $2 million in FY 03, for a total of $7.9 million instead of the $7.6 million in the current program. However, the state would continue with the original program that was planned in the current TIP, and go advanced construct to keep the projects moving along because of the change from $3.2 million to $2 million in FY 01. Ms. Hull said this is a compromise she feels they could live with for the ATMS program.

Ms. Hull said there is another compromise that has been made. UTA is interested in purchasing property at two park and rides along the north/south light rail line. One is at 9000 South for $600,000, the other is at 1300 South for $800,000. Commissioner Larkin asked if both properties are for sale. Mike Allegra from UTA, said the property at 1300 South is active on the market and is for sale. At 9000 South, the property owners had indicated earlier they were willing to sell to UTA. Ms. Hull said in order for UTA to take advantage of purchasing these properties now, the proposal is to use $1.4 million in corridor preservation funds. The difference with this request is there is actually a commitment when the State would get those funds back. Will Jefferies from the Wasatch Front Regional Council said they programmed CMAQ funds for the year 2004 to go to UTA to pay off the loan that would be made today, if approved. The whole thing works out to break even in 2004, and then $4 million of CMAQ funds goes to the ATMS program in 2005. Chairman Brown stated that he’s concerned that another door is being opened here and wondered if there are going to be a lot of requests coming from UTA for this type of thing. And if only $2 million goes into the preservation fund every year, is the Department willing to use $1.4 million out of that $2 million for this?

Director Warne said the Chairman brings up a good point. That’s why the Commission has to look at each one of these. There been a lot of good done for a lot of people in the hardship acquisition process, and funds shouldn’t be depleted so far that the Commission can’t deal with the hardship cases. Although there is a significant balance in the fund, there should be some consideration as to how far to let the funds go down on large requests like this versus how much to leave in the fund for hardship requests that come in. Director Warne said he’d be more hesitant about this if the money wasn’t coming back in a couple of years.

Commissioner Wells made a motion to accept the request to purchase, through the corridor preservation revolving fund for $1.4 million, the park and ride lots on 1300 South and 9000 South, with a repayment date of 2004 by the UTA. It was seconded by Commissioner Larkin.

There was discussion of the motion. Chairman Brown said he’s uneasy getting into an area they haven’t been before. Commissioner Bodily said it’s a matter of cash flow and whether they are going to meet more urgent needs and still be able to afford to extend this credit for that period of time. Chairman Brown asked what would happen if this wasn’t approved. Mr. Allegra responded that this proposal has come together as part of a package between TransCom and WFRC in an effort to accomplish a multitude of things. TRAX has been very successful and the lots that were built are all full. There is an aggressive program to expand those lots and basically double the number of lots in their system. Once these properties are sold they can never be acquired again. UTA doesn’t have the power of eminent domain. Mr. Allegra reiterated that one of the properties is actively on the market and they claim to have a buyer. If UTA loses this, there are no other opportunities out there.

Chairman Brown asked if one of the properties was more critical than the other. Mr. Allegra said 1300 South is more critical because it is actively on the market. Director Warne disagreed and said he thought 9000 South was more critical because the whole point of park and ride lots is to intercept people before they use the capacity of the freeway system and get them into a transit system. If someone drives all the way to 1300 South, they’ve just used up 15 miles of capacity on I-15. He’s not sure 1300 South makes sense. Mr. Allegra countered that although the majority of the demand is going from the south to the north and the majority of the parking stalls are in the southern part of the valley, they do see a significant reverse commute on the light rail line traveling the southern direction as well. The 1300 South lot is full right now.

Commissioner Wells changed her motion. Instead of approving $1.4 million from the corridor preservation fund, she changed the amount to $700,000, with UTA deciding which parcel they want to purchase. Commissioner Larkin accepted and seconded the change in the motion, and the motion was approved.

Ken Settler Property on US-89
John Njord said this particular parcel is along the US-89 corridor and will be in the way of the new facility when US-89 is reconstructed. The Department is recommending acquisition under hardship, as the family is experiencing health problems.

Commissioner Larkin moved to approve the acquisition of the Ken Settler property on US-89. The motion was seconded b y Commissioner Wilson and approved.

Planning and Programming
Heber City Main Street
Linda Hull said at the Commission workshop in April, the Commission agreed to the proposed funding of the Heber City Main Street project in FY 2002 for $500,000. Heber City has recently said if they don’t get started on the project right away, they won’t get it done in time for the Olympics. This project isn’t in the current STIP, it’s only in the draft STIP, which won’t receive final approval until sometime in October. Heber City said that is too far away and they need to start on the project now. Ms. Hull proposed amending the current STIP to bring the Heber City enhancement project into the current STIP so the PE can begin. Those costs can then be reimbursed at a later date.

Commissioner Larkin moved to amend the current STIP and move the Heber City Main Street project into the current STIP in the amount of $500,000. It was seconded by Commissioner Wilson and approved.

CMPO TIP Amendment
Linda Hull stated that the Cache MPO has taken an action to amend their TIP to include additional funds for a project on Main Street. The cost of the project increased from the original estimate of $386,000 to $1.098 million. The Commission would just have to amend the STIP to incorporate the change the CMPO has made to their TIP.

Jim Gass from the CMPO, discussed three reasons for the cost overruns. First, when the original cost estimate was done, there was not a design for the completed road. Second, the original cost estimate was done by Logan City engineering staff, who was not accustomed to building roads to the standards that are now being used. Finally, with assistance from UDOT, Logan City was able to identify a number of items that had been left out of the original estimate, which were rather significant. The CMPO has spent a great deal of time working with Logan City and UDOT’s Region One in reconciling the new cost estimate, and they feel comfortable with the amount of money being requested.

Commissioner Bodily moved to amend the STIP, incorporating the change to the CMPO TIP. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Larkin and approved.

WFRC TIP Amendment
Linda Hull said the Wasatch Front TIP was built in with the purchase of the two UTA properties, and now there is concern about the impact it will have on WFRC’s schedule and time line. They are talking about whether or not to go ahead and try and adopt the TIP with the amended amount. Chairman Brown asked if it would be better to hold off on this. Will Jefferies said if nothing is going to be held up, it doesn’t matter if it’s delayed. At this point they don’t know what’s going to be held up. Director Warne said the Commission can adopt the proposed amendments with the exception of the action that occurred earlier, then WFRC can go back and deal with the change. Mr. Jefferies said the Commission can’t do that, as regulations indicate the TIP is to be agreed upon by the MPO and the Commission in it’s entirety without change. Director Warne stated that the Commission has adopted partial documents before. He asked David Gibbs from FHWA if that shouldn’t have been done. Mr. Gibbs said it’s his understanding it can. It’s one of those areas they get varying interpretations on, and he’s seen it happen and occur in other places, but he’s not sure what the tradition has been here. Mr. Jefferies said if they take it back to the council and they agree, then it’s easy. If they don’t agree, then they need to meet and hash it out. He suggested rather than holding up local government projects etc., the Commission take an action to adopt the TIP, then everyone can sit down and work through the other stuff that has been dealt with today.

Director Warne again suggested the Commission take an action to adopt the amended TIP and STIP with the one exception of the action taken today. That way, no project is held up and everyone moves forward. Then to back to the regional council and resolve the earlier action. Mr. Jefferies shared some background on UTA’s request. Further discussion of this item was postponed until later in the meeting by Chairman Brown, while specific information was located as to which line the exception needs to be noted for.

FY 2001 Safety Sidewalk Program - Region 2
Linda Hull said the Commission approved the sidewalk program for Regions 1, 3, and 4 last month. There have been a series of staff turnover at Region Two, and they were not able to have their list of sidewalk projects ready last month. They didn’t want to hold up the rest of the state either, so the Commission went ahead and approved the program so the other regions could proceed with their projects. Region Two has since put together their list of proposed sidewalk projects, which is now before the Commission for approval.

Commissioner Wilson moved to approve the FY 2001 Safety Sidewalk Program for Region Two. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Bodily and approved.

I-70 Project at the I-15 Junction
Linda Hull said Region Four has some savings on the $15.5 million, Baker Canyon to Meadow project, and they would like to put the savings on a new project that is not currently in the STIP. Tom Christensen said the original concept on the I-15 Baker Canyon to Meadow project was $22 million. By using some extensive value engineering and other things to get the project down, they got a really good bid. They are 3/4 the way through the project and feel comfortable they will stay within the budget that is outlined in the Commission binders. They proposed moving the $4.6 million in excess funds to pay for a five inch overlay on I-70 from MP 0 to MP 7.3. Mr. Christensen explained the problems with a project that was done there five years ago. He said they would like to fix those problems and can do it quite rapidly. They would like to have the funds obligated this year because it’s 2000 money, and a new project needs to be created in the STIP.

Commissioner Larkin made a motion to allow the transfer of excess funds from the Baker Canyon project to the I-70 project, adding the I-70 project into the current STIP. It was seconded by Commissioner Wilson and approved.

Aeronautics (6 projects)
Monte Yeager from Aeronautics said there are six projects that are identified in the summary. The first project is for the Vernal/Uintah County Airport, and has a double sponsor with Vernal City and Uintah County. The work to be done is installation of precision approach path indicator lights, runway end identification lights, and distance to go signs for runway 7/25. The total amount is almost $110,000, with $100,000 coming from the federal government, and the sponsor paying the remaining balance of $9,963. There are not state monies involved in this project.

The second project is at the Tooele Valley Airport and is for land acquisition. There are some safety areas that need to be done on both ends of the runway, and there are about 130 acres involved in this acquisition. The cost is $2.5 million, of which the sponsor will pay $234,091, and the federal government will pay $2,349,689. Again, there is no state participation in this project. The third project is also at the Tooele Valley Airport, and will lengthen, widen, and strengthen runway 16/34. They will also install some wildlife perimeter fencing and buy some overhead utilities. The cost of the project is $3.7 million. The federal government will pay $3.4 million and the sponsor will contribute $338,728.

The fourth project is at the Beaver Municipal Airport and is for an airport layout plan. Beaver City is the sponsor and the cost of the project is $50,000. The federal government will pay $45,470, and the sponsor will pay the remaining $4,530. There is no cost to the state on this project, although the state can assist in planning projects. However, Beaver County said they would go ahead and pay the full amount.

The fifth project is a planning project for the WFRC, and is a metropolitan airport system plan. The total cost is $52,313, of which the federal government will pay $52,884, and the sponsor and state will make up the remaining balance of $2,622.

The final project is a Cedar City project and is a pavement project to seal coat and repaint the taxiways, aprons, and crosswind runway. The total cost of the project is $80,000, the sponsor will contribute $16,000, and the federal government will contribute $64,000.

Commissioner Larkin moved to approve the six aeronautics airport projects as presented with the source of funding as recommended. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Wilson and approved.

Resolution
Transfer of 7800 South (from 700 West to Redwood Road) to Midvale and West Jordan
John Njord explained that three years ago, the Department entered into an agreement with Midvale and West Jordan, before the Jordan River Parkway was constructed, that there would be a transfer of jurisdictional ownership of roads. The state will take over the new facility constructed from 700 West to Redwood Road. In return, Midvale will take over the ownership of old State Route 48, which continues along 700 West to Holden Street, then down to the Jordan River on 7800 South. Then, from the center of the bridge at the Jordan River to Redwood Road, West Jordan would take ownership of that parcel. Mr. Njord said the Department would recommend approval of the resolution to make this jurisdictional transfer.

Commissioner Wells moved to approve the resolution as presented. Commissioner Wilson seconded the motion and it was approved.

Approval of Including Meeting Notes into Commission Minutes
Commissioner Wilson asked that the Commission approve the inclusion of the notes of yesterdays informal public meeting at the Emery County Courthouse into the minutes of today’s meeting. Chairman Brown accepted his request. They will be attached to the end of the minutes.

Commissioner Wilson moved to adopt as part of the official minutes of today’s meeting, the notes of the informal public meeting held July 27, 2000, at the Emery County Courthouse. It was seconded by Commissioner Larkin and approved.

Planning and Programming
WFRC TIP Amendment - (Continued)
Will Jefferies said the changes in the TIP that weren’t in the copy in the Commission’s binders are in the copy of what is being handed out. The second sheet shows the language UDOT suggested be put in the TIP, and the second line is what the CHEF list shows. What the council did yesterday was approve the TIP with the CHEF language and not UDOT’s requested language. Mr. Jefferies said he figured that would buy them a few weeks to get with the Department and work something out so everyone’s happy and won’t get anyone in trouble. Mr. Jefferies then talked about the conformity lapse and said, as the agency who must do the conformity determination, they are not admitting they are going to have a conformity lapse. To prove that, he said they need to have cooperation with DEQ. He also gave examples and details of why they think they can work things out. He said they will probably be back with an amendment to the TIP that creates a whole new TIP with a two year plan that will conform to air quality standards. And, because of that, Mr. Jefferies said he imagines UDOT will want to reschedule some of their thinking on which projects go now and later. Assuming they can’t show conformity, then they’ll have to come back anyway with a new TIP that has only the projects that can be built in a non-conformity period.

Commissioner Larkin asked Mr. Jefferies what he wants the Commission to do. Mr. Jefferies said WFRC requests approval of the TIP as submitted, and amend the previous action to give the full $1.4 million to UTA. That way, everything balances, they don’t have to go back to the council for concurrence, and they can start working with UDOT and DEQ to get beyond this document and begin a new TIP. Director Warne said the Commission can do it either way. They can do as Mr. Jefferies suggested and amend the previous action, or accept the TIP that has been handed out with the changes made by TransCom, but do it with the exception of the modification to the right of way acquisition of $700,000.

Commissioner Wilson moved to approve the WFRC TIP with the exception of the adjustment made in the prior motion to the corridor preservation request of $1.4 million. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Larkin and approved.

Informational Items
Next Transportation Commission Meetings
The next regular meeting of the Utah Transportation Commission will be held on Friday, August 25, 2000, 9:00 a.m., at the UDOT Rampton Complex in the large conference room. The following date and location was also scheduled:

• September 29, 2000 - Salt Lake City

The meeting adjourned at 12:42 p.m.

The following Commissioners, staff members and others were in attendance:

Glen E. Brown, Chairman
James G. Larkin, Vice-Chairman
Stephen M. Bodily, Commissioner
Jan C. Wells, Commissioner
Bevan K. Wilson, Commissioner
LeAnn G. Abegglen, Commission Secretary
Thomas R. Warne, Executive Director
John R. Njord, Deputy Director
Max J. Ditlevsen, Comptroller
Linda Toy Hull, Program Development Director
Bret Anderson, Program Development
Amanda Covington, Community Relations
Monte Yeager, Aeronautics
Mack Christensen, Traffic and Safety
Alan Mecham, Region Three Director
Phil Huff, Region Three
Dale Peterson, Region Four Director
Mike Miles, Region Four
Tom Christensen, Region Four
Myron Lee, Region Four
Kleston Laws, Price District Director
Russ Jensen, Price District
David C. Gibbs, Division Administrator, FHWA
Joseph Brown, Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget
Representative Brad King
Michael Milovich, Carbon County Commission
Reid Olsen, Helper City Council
Vern Jones, Price City Community Development
Mayor Paul Childs, Wellington City
Craig Johansen, Wellington City Engineer
Pam Rauhala, Wellington City
Mayor Larry Ellertson, Lindon City
Kevin Smith, Lindon City P&Z Director
Mayor Ed Sanderson, Pleasant Grove City
Carol Harmer, Pleasant Grove City Council
Betty Memmott, Pleasant Grove City Council
Gary Clay, Pleasant Grove City Finance Director
Frank Mills, Pleasant Grove City Community Services Director
John Ayer, Pleasant Grove City Community Development Director
Allen Fawcett, Heber City Planning Director
Pat Casaday, Sandy City Mayor’s Assistant
Mike Allegra, UTA
Will Jefferies, WFRC
Jim Gass, CMPO
Kathy McMullen, MAG
Shaun Seager, MAG
Jeff Chesler, Savage Industries
Ken May, Canyon Fuel Co.
Jan Bess, Ferron City
Kathy Justice, Highway 6/Huntington City
Bert Collins, Petition Comm.