Ripon City Council
Special Meeting Minutes
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2022
SPECIAL MEETING
3:00 PM
The Special Meeting was called to order by Mayor Dean Uecker at 3:00 PM.
ROLL CALL:
Attendee Name Title Status Arrived
Dean Uecker Mayor Present
Michael Restuccia Vice Mayor Present
Leo Zuber Council Member Present
Daniel de Graaf Council Member Present
Gary Barton Council Member Present
OTHERS PRESENT: City Administrator Kevin Werner, City Attorney Tom Terpstra, City Clerk Lisa Roos, Deputy City Clerk Jane Kilgore, Information Systems Technician Hunter Crosby.
1. PUBLIC DISCUSSION
No one from the public wished to speak at this time.
2. TOPICS OF DISCUSSION
A. SAN JOAQUIN ONE VOICE ADVOCACY TRIP 2023
2023 One Voice Project:
Regional Project - Ripon Multi-Modal
Station
Discussion/Action
City Council to consider approving the
Ripon Multi-Modal station as the City of
Ripon Regional Project for 2023 One
Voice.
Additionally, if the City Council is
interested in sending a representative or
representatives to participate in the 2023
One Voice trip, please designate and
approve the City’s representative(s) to
attend.
City Administrator Werner said this year’s One Voice conference will be in-person in Washington D.C. for May 8-10, 2023. Werner said the San Joaquin Council of Governments (SJCOG) criteria for project submittals changed this year. Previously, public agencies were allowed to submit one regional and one local project, but are now only able to submit one regional project. The project needs to prove it is regional and has a federal nexus; has a complete or near complete National Environmental Policy Act City Council Page 2 November 30, 2022
(NEPA) clearance; is significantly developed to warrant Federal spending and has demonstrated community support.
Werner said the Ripon project that best meets the criteria is the Ripon Multi Modal Station. In 2017 property was purchased for the station. The City has an MOU with the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission (SJRRC) to move the project forward including the design of the station and eventual construction of said station. The NEPA has been completed for this project. Werner said ACE Rail would be responsible for the platform.
He said Ripon received a $3.905 million grant for this project with $1.5 million allocated towards the design. The City has hired O’Dell Engineering to do the design and are about 60% complete. Werner said total estimated capital costs the City would be responsible for is about $6 million, this includes off-site parking and improvements to 4th Street and Industrial Avenue to access the station. Currently the City’s portion of the project does not include the Multi Modal station, ACE does not plan to staff this station, so the City would reserve the land and stub utilities for a future building.
Council Member Zuber clarified that the $6 million covers everything but the building and the platform. Werner confirmed.
Vice Mayor Restuccia asked if parking will be a parking garage or a parking lot. Werner confirmed it will be a parking lot.
Council Member Barton asked for confirmation regarding the cost of the design. Werner repeated the design cost of $1.6 million and elaborated that design includes land improvements, street improvements and 30% of the building design.
Mayor Uecker asked if it would be possible to build a two or three-story parking garage instead of a parking lot. Werner explained it would not be possible to use this funding for that because projected ridership does not support the need for a parking garage.
Council discussed what the grant will cover.
Uecker said he feels that if the parking lot is constructed there needs to be a walkway to downtown. Werner agreed and said the goal is to make the station and the parking area feel like an extension of downtown with lights and sidewalks.
Werner said some of the benefits of this project include downtown economic vitality and the regional ACE service for our residents.
Council Member Barton said he believes there are many capital improvement projects that are a higher priority and asked if this is the only one that meets the necessary criteria.
Werner said staff has the priority project list this project is the best match.
Uecker asked how much the City is applying for. Werner said $3.5 million.
Restuccia asked if ACE is including the building. Werner said no, because ACE does not plan on ever staffing the building. Zuber said it will be like Manteca and will be a transit center, not a train station.
City Council Page 3 November 30, 2022
Barton asked if receiving the funding obligates the City to additional projects other than the parking and street improvements. Werner said no, just normal maintenance.
Zuber said if there are special conditions or obligations tied to it, they are presented beforehand, giving the City the opportunity to decline the funding, Werner said the conference dates are May 9 – 10, 2023 which conflicts with the May 9, 2023 City Council meeting. The Council Member that attends the conference would have the option to attend the meeting virtually, not attend the City Council meeting or the meeting could be rescheduled.
Council discussed who would go on the trip and agreed that Council Member de Graaf would attend the conference and Mayor Uecker would attend if de Graaf could not make it.
Motion to approve the proposal for submitting plan for the improvements around the ACE station and authorize the City Administrator and Council Member Daniel de Graaf to attend the One Voice Conference.
RESULT: ADOPTED [5 TO 0]
MOVER: Leo Zuber, Council Member
SECONDER: Michael Restuccia, Vice Mayor
AYES: Uecker, Restuccia, Zuber, de Graaf, Barton
Discussion after the vote:
Zuber said he believes the City needs to start investing money to prepare other projects for upcoming grants. Werner said it is important to be ready with projects that fit the category. Werner said Caltrans recently released the Caltrans Transportation Planning document (CTP2050) which details specific criteria of the projects they want to see funded. He said it is important that the City is ready with projects that meet this criteria.
Zuber said he believes SJCOG can help the City with this.
Barton asked for a list of potential projects. Werner said he will talk to SJCOG to see what projects might qualify as regionally competitive.
Zuber said it does not have to serve the region, but it has to meet the criteria that is affecting the regional area.
Werner said staff has the list of Council’s priority projects and can make categories to see which projects fit where for future grants.
Uecker asked about Second Street. Werner said the Second Street project has been funded and the engineering department is currently working on it.
Werner said the engineering department is putting a design together for Locust so that City Council Page 4 November 30, 2022
project is shovel ready.
Council discussed some of the other projects and streets in the downtown area.
3. ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 3:28 PM. (Signed) Dean Uecker
Mayor
ATTEST:
(Signed) Lisa Roos
City Clerk
City Council
259 N. Wilma Avenue
Ripon, CA 95366
MEMO
To: Honorable City Council
From: Kevin Werner, City Administrator
Date: 11/30/2022
Subject: San Joaquin One Voice Advocacy Trip 2023
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
City Council to consider approving the Ripon Multi-Modal project as the City of Ripon Regional Project for the 2023 Once Voice trip.
Additionally, in the last few years, the City Council has sent the City Administrator and a Council Member to advocate not only for Ripon’s projects, but also important regional projects and regional transportation policies. If the City Council is interested in sending a representative or representatives to participate in the 2023 One Voice trip, please designate and approve the City’s representative(s) to attend.
BACKGROUND:
The efforts of the One Voice® program provides the platform to effectively advocate for policy and regulatory reform and for preservation of funding programs crucial to projects that bring economic prosperity to San Joaquin County while improving transportation choices and infrastructure. In 2022 the San Joaquin Council of Governments (SJCOG) developed a new process to review and evaluate project applications.
Although Congress stopped earmarking funds in 2010, the federal government still distributes billions of dollars through formula and discretionary programs. The San Joaquin One Voice® delegates take this opportunity to receive counsel from legislators, legislative staff, and the administration about the various federal programs and how our region can successfully compete in the grant process.
In the past, public agencies were allowed to submit two projects, one local priority project and one regional project. For the 2023 One Voice trip, the criteria for submitting projects have changed and now agencies are only able to submit one regionally significant project that meets the following criteria:
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Project needs to prove it is regional and has a federal nexus; Complete or near complete National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) clearance; Significantly developed to warrant Federal spending; and Demonstrated community support.
This new criterion for the One Voice projects is intended to allow SJCOG to bring forward and focus on the projects that provides the best chance at securing available funds.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS:
San Joaquin Council of Governments (SJCOG) has requested project submittals for the 2023 San Joaquin One Voice trip. Submitted projects will be reviewed by SJCOG staff and the SJCOG Executive Committee and will be subject to the approval by the full SJCOG Board to be included as part of the 2023 One Voice trip.
Staff is recommending the City Council consider submitting the Ripon Multi-Modal Project project for consideration by SJCOG for the 2023 One-Voice trip. This project meets the new 2023 One Voice criteria previously summarized in this memo. Below is a description of that project:
Regional Project: Ripon Multi-Modal Project
The City of Ripon and San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission (SJRRC) is proposing to construct an Altamont Commuter Express (ACE) platform near downtown Ripon. The proposed project includes off-street parking, a bus loading and staging area, off-site street improvements, and a rail platform for the ACE Train. This multi-modal project would provide a number of benefits, not only to the residents of Ripon, but the region, including:
Downtown Economic Vitality
Regional Ace Station Service
Air Quality Improvement
In August 2017, the City purchased the property for the future multi-modal station and has received $3,905,000 of Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funding towards the design and construction of the project. At this time, $1.5 million of the FTA funds have been allocated towards the design of the project. The estimated capital cost of the improvements, not including the SJRRC funded platform, is $6 million, leaving a funding need of $3.6 million. 2023 One Voice Attendance
The 2023 One Voice trip is scheduled for May 8 to May 10, 2023. This would conflict with the May 9th City Council meeting. Any participants attending the One Voice trip can participate in the City Council meeting through zoom, or the council meeting can be rescheduled, whichever the City Council desires.
FISCAL IMPACT:
An in-person trip is scheduled for May 8-10, 2023 in Washington, D.C. The projected cost for each One Voice participant is estimated to be $5,000.
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