FOR THE COUNCIL MEETING OF JUNE 20, 2023
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
TO: City Council
FROM: City Manager
Prepared by: Director of Public Works
SUBJECT: FY 2023-2024 Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account Project List for Senate Bill 1, The Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017
Description:
The City Council will consider a Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account Project List for Fiscal Year 2023-2024.
Environmental Notice: The activity is not a “Project” as defined under Section 15378 of the California Environmental Quality Act State Guidelines; therefore, pursuant to State Guidelines Section 15060(c)(3) no environmental review is required.
RECOMMENDATION:
Adopt a Resolution approving a Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account Project List to be funded by the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017 , Senate Bill 1, and incorporated into Fiscal Year 2023-2024 budget.
BACKGROUND:
The Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, Senate Bill 1 (SB-1), was passed by the State Legislature and signed into law by the Governor in April 2017. The purpose of the bill is to help State and local agencies address transportation funding shortfalls. SB-1 has generated revenue through increases in gas tax, vehicle registration fees, and fees on zero-emission vehicles.
One of the major components of SB -1 is the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account (RMRA), which is the revenue stream set as ide for the maintenance and rehabilitation of roadways. SB -1 is expected to generate over $5 billion annually at full implementation, $1.5 billion of which will be distributed to local agencies and counties through the RMRA. The City of Santa Maria is proj ected to receive $2, 663,292 in revenues from the RMRA for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-2024, an increase of $320,569 from the FY 2022-2023 allocation.
SB-1 includes accountability and transparency provisions to enable local residents to remain aware of the projects proposed to be funded by SB-1 in their area. As part of these provisions, it is a requirement for local agencies to adopt project lists before the start of every fiscal year. The project list must include all projects proposed to receive funding from the RMRA. The required list includes a description and the location of each proposed 2 project, a proposed schedule for the project’s completion, and the estimated useful life of the improvement. Per the requirements of SB -1, the list must be approved by the City Council through Resolution and sent to the California Transportation Commission (CTC) no later than July 1, 2023, in order to be eligible for RMRA funding next fiscal year.
The primary focus of the RMRA is maintenance of the existing infrastructure within the City’s rights-of-way. Other transportation funding sources, such as Gas Tax, Measure A, Local Surface Transportation Program, Growth Mitigation, and other grant programs are available for capital expenditures through the normal budget process.
On June 21, 2022, the City Council approved the RMRA project list for FY 2022-2023, which was then submitted to the CTC as required. The list included two pavement maintenance and rehabilitation projects. These projects were assigned a total of $2,892,696 in the FY 2022-2023 budget, which was the remaining fund balance plus the projected amount to be received from the RMRA program. Staff recommended to include these projects on the RMRA list due to their eligibility for RMRA funds and based on analysis thr ough the City’s Pavement Management Program (PMP). The previously approved projects for FY 2022-2023 were:
1. Arterial Dig Out and Overlay Project, Bid 2022-03
This project consisted of pavement repairs on East Alvin Avenue, East Battles Road, South College Drive, South Depot Street, Skyway Drive, and West Stowell Road. The pavement quality of the noted roadways needed extensive maintenance with East Alvin Avenue, South College Drive, and East Battles Road bearing the most damage. As a result, those roadways also received an overlay.
Project Status: The project was completed in December 2022. The final project cost was $3,328,625. The total amount of SB-1 funds utilized on this project was $829,376.
2. Annual Surface Seal Street Maintenance Project, Bid 2022-05
This consisted of placing a chip seal, slurry seal, or other surface treatments for pavement preservation and installation of pavement markings on various City streets in the City of Santa Maria.
Project Status: This project was completed in February of 2023. The final project cost was $2,611,433. The total amount of SB -1 funds used on this project was $1,436,478.
DISCUSSION:
Staff has identified one new pavement rehabilitation project to utilize RMRA funding in FY 2023-2024. This project is identified as the Roadway Rehabilitation Project. The project has been identified through use of the City’s PMP in coordination with staff’s field 3 inspections and recommendations. Staff’s recommendation is to include this project on the RMRA list due to the eligibility for RMRA funds and the ability to be completed within the next fiscal year.
SB-1 RMRA Funded Projects for FY 2023-2024:
1. Roadway Rehabilitation Project (FY 2023-2024 and prior year remaining funds)
A detailed description of the projects is included in the Resolution.
Approval of the Resolution will allow the City to submit the new project to the CTC before the July 1st deadline and remain eligible for another year of SB-1 funding. The benefit of increased revenue from SB-1 is that it will allow the City to utilize existing budgeted funds to rehabilitate additional roadways this fiscal year that would have been otherwise delayed.
This action does not preclude the City from utilizing these funds for other eligible roadway maintenance projects in FY 2023-2024. This action meets the requirements of the RMRA program. In FY 2023-2024, if the City chooses to utilize these funds for projects that are not listed, they will need to submit updated reports to the CTC at the end of the year, as required by the program.
Future RMRA project lists to be recommended for approval by the City Council will be selected from the capital improvement program budget plan for roadway maintenance currently being developed by staff as part of its PMP. The anticipated funding projections will support the orderly development, and improvement to other City infrastructure such as pedestrian and bicycle facilities, underground utilities, and drainage.
Alternative(s)
The recommended action is to approve the SB-1 RMRA Project List for FY 2023-2024.
The alternative to the recommended action would be for the City Council to direct staff to revise the project list to include alternate locations. Per the requirements of SB -1, the project list must be app roved by the City Council by Resolution and sent to the CTC no later than July 1, 2023. Delaying the approval may jeopardize the City’s eligibility for timely receipt of funds.
Fiscal Considerations
Approval of the Resolution will make the City eligible t o submit its request to the CTC to receive SB-1 apportionment revenues for FY 2023-2024. CTC will review submittals from all agencies in California and adopt project lists at its meeting in August 2023.
Impact to the Community
The community will benefit b y receiving transportation revenues that will be used to improve the streets of Santa Maria.
4 Other Agency Review
There was no review by any outside agencies. Staff will be submitting the approved list to the CTC.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Projected FY23-24 Revenues_2023-06-20
Attachment B - Projected FY22-23 Revenues_2023-06-20