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Home My WebLink About02-22-1995 TRAFFIC COMMISSION MINUTES . - , TRANSPORTATION SUB-COMMITTEE Meeting February 22, 1995 Present: Mayor Dick Winder, Rita Earl, Terry McConnell, Dorothy Davidson, Garret Nancolas, Dennis Crooks, Doug Law, Bruce Allcott, Gene Enebo, Jack Raymond. Absent: None The meeting was called to order in the City Hall Conference Room at 12:15 p.m. by Dennis Crooks, Planning and Zoning Director. Dennis asked the committee if there were any changes or additions to the minutes of the meeting on February 15. Mayor Winder stated that on the first page, the reference to the location of the proposed new high school faciliry should be on Indiana instead of Georgia. With no other changes, the minutes were accepted by the committee as written. The next item of business concerned the proposed street classification map which includes the expanded Area of City Impact and some minor changes to the e�cisting classification of some steets within the City limits. This map is scheduled to go before the Planning and Zoning Commission in a public hearing process on March 2nd and March 16th. The recommendation of the Commission will then go to the City Council during another public hearing process. Dennis briefly explained some of the changes on the map and various locations that would be of interest to the Transportation Sub-Committee. There was discussion regarding Spruce Street as a collector street and having it extended across the drain to accommodate Jefferson Junior Hiah School traffic. Dennis stated that the proposed classification map does not include all City streets, only collector and arterial roadways. The Sub-Committee can designate areas of concern in the narrative portion of the Plan and prioritize them with specific needs. Dennis also stated that the classification map is a concept and can be changed as needs change. Having a classification map enables the Planning and Zoning Commission to have guidelines when developers come before them with requests. Dennis stated that the next item for discussion involved the written objectives of the Transportation Component and the prioritization of certain projects. He stated that the chart in the packet distributed classified projects with either an "A", "B" or "C" prioritized designation, with "A" being a high priority with capabiliry of short term implementation. There were three additions made to the existing list. 1. The extension of the "stock trail" behind the Caldwell Events Center between 21st and Linden; 2. The extension of Spruce Street across the Dixie drain; and 3. The emension of Spruce Street between Kimball Avenue and lOth Avenue. Garret Nancolas stated that #3, "to conduct an assessment for the improvement of Paynter Avenue between Kimball Avenue and State Highway 19", needs to be an "A" classification. Rita Earl asked Dennis to explain the details of getting an assessment. Dennis stated that the assessment can vary in scope and cost, depending on the purpose of the assessment. It could be done by the City if there is staff time available or could be done by an outside consultant. There are many aspects to an assessment, including how many lanes are needed, turn lanes, right-of-way needs and procurement, and exactly what type of improvements should be considered. Bruce Allcott stated that #15, "to conduct a study of the Kimball Avenue corridor between Ustick Road and Simplot Boulevard", should tie directly with #3. Garret commented that he feels doing only part of a street improvement generally can create a problem because it encourages more traffic and therefore other problems follow. Rita stated that one of the things that needs to be considered when doing an assessment is future needs and possible future development in the surrounding area. There was discussion regarding #3, #15 and #13 all need to be combined into 1 project and given a"A" priority. The entire project may not be able to be completed all at the same time, but the assessment will be done on the needs all at the same time so a total vision can be documented. Rita asked Dennis how any one of the projects being discussed get from concept to action. Dennis stated that this sub-committee will make recommendations to the Engineering Department and the City will consider the need and cost associated with a project during the Capital Improvement budget process. Garret asked what various funds are available for such projects. Dennis stated that there are various funds available at the State level. Gene Enebo stated that one source would be in a City wide LID. Garret stated that impact fees would certainly be useful if they could be legally charged. Bruce stated that there is a bill before legislature that would expand the capability of charging impact fees. Dennis stated that there are ways to recover some costs other than impact fees that could be explored. Also, that some of the legal conflicts over impact fees have yet to be resolved by the Idaho Supreme Court. Many cities already have fee structures that are essentially impact fees. Nampa and Moscow have impact type fees for parks. Caldwell's sewer treatment capacity fee is an impact type fee. Mayor Winder stated that the budget was increased during the last budget process for street improvements. Rita Earl stated that she felt the projects prioritized as "A" should be presented to the City Council during the next budget process and hopefully these needs could be addressed as soon as possible. She further stated that #19, "to establish a fund for property/right-of-way acquisition", could be put on a near future Council agenda because it does not involve any immediate funding. Jack stated that he felt a bond issue may the only answer for some of the funding that it will take to complete some of these projects. He further stated that after one project is complete and the citizens see a"success", he believes that a bond would be more acceptable to the public. Mayor Winder stated that the Treatment Plant issue must be settled prior to making a decision on creating a bond for streets. Garret stated that he also feels that when the public sees a project complete and improve a particular neighborhood, they feel may feel that "something is being done" and be more receptive to a bond. Rita stated that regarding #11, "to establish a continuous network of sidewalks throughout the City utilizing both refurbishment and expansion of existing and future sidewalks. Emphasis should be placed on schools, parks, and other areas where the safety of children is a prime concern", should involve the School District, but the City needs to take some initiative in this area also and make improvements, additions and replacement of sidewalks that the City owns. Dennis stated that this (#11) is a general statement and should be considered when doing budgeting. It does not list specific areas or projects, just identifies the need to continually consider sidewalk imgrovements on an ongoing basis. This sub-committee will be setting the actual recommendations for particular areas over the course of the upcoming year and give those recommendations to the Public Works Department to consider during the budget process. Garret stated that another item he felt needs to be listed as #29, is a statement that will provide the Planning and Zoning Commission with policy direction on how to deal with a variety of street improvements in various situations. Garret also stated that he feels #21,"to assess the intersection and alignment of Ustick Road with Cleveland Boulevard in terms of safe traffic movement", and #23, "to conduct a study of the Ustick Road corridor within the incorporated limits of the City of Caldwell and in the Area of City Impact", should be combined into one project. Bruce stated that other agencies that do construction of any kind should be communicated with so they don't do a project and find they need to relocate something when the street in question is being upgraded. • � w Garret stated that the "vision", street classification map, etc. should be sent to the County Highway District so everyone has access to the concepts the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council have for streets within Caldwell City limits. With no further discussion, the meeting was adjourned at 1:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted, , _ c �,�..�� , Sue Brown, . Recording Secretary