Appendix A Public Involvement Plan City of Chattanooga Rail Implementation Plan Chattanooga Rail Transit Implementation Study Public Involvement Plan Public Involvement Plan The public engagement process for the Chattanooga Rail Transit Implementation Study (CRTIS) will tap into the interest that exists in improving public transportation in the region. Utilizing proven techniques for reaching the public, an understanding of how passenger rail could provide a needed transportation alternative for many segments of the population will be developed based on broad public input. The economic development potential related to new public transit service will also be explored with stakeholders and the public. Project Description The Chattanooga Department of Transportation (CDOT) was awarded U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration TIGER Funds and is supplementing those funds with local match funds. The purpose of the project is to explore the re-introduction of passenger rail service to Chattanooga, potentially returning to a 160-year tradition as a national railroad leader, and opening the door to a vibrant economic future for Chattanooga by providing a broader mix of transportation options. Public Officials and Business Community Outreach Outreach will focus on the following: A. Initial Local Elected Officials Briefings – These will include the City and County Mayors, City Council and County Commission. The briefings (Blythe, Bert, Justin and Tyler) will provide opportunities to uncover concerns and issues, and to get recommendations of key stakeholders who need to be involved in the process. B. Periodic Local Elected Official Briefings – These briefings will be held (Blythe, Bert, Justin and Tyler) immediately before or after public meetings and will provide opportunities for elected officials to be briefed on project status and findings and to provide input. C. State and Federal Congressional Delegation – these elected officials will be invited (Blythe, Bert, Justin and Tyler) to attend or send representation to all public meetings and events. They will also be sent a project update at the project midpoint and will be sent the final report. August 25, 2015 Public Involvement Plan - 1 D. Business Community Engagement – Meetings will be held to gauge interest and support, identify feasibility challenges and gain insight into the travel markets. 1) The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum (TVRM, Tim Andrews), CARTA, the City of Chattanooga, and Ron Harr will assist in the effort to identify a list of businesses along the corridor and set up stakeholder meetings to discuss the goals of the project, the potential alignments, and potential implementation phases. The number of meetings will be finalized based on input from the TVRM, CARTA, the City and Ron Harr. 2) The Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce holds regular meetings with businesses in various sub-markets within Hamilton County. The CRTIS team (Consultant Team, Ron Harr, Justin and Tyler) will provide information and collect input from businesses in these groups located along the study corridor. 3) The CRTIS consultant team will help identify business groups that need to be engaged and will review the engagement activities to help ensure that outreach is consistent throughout the business community. The CRTIS consultant team will be available to participate in business community meetings on dates that coincide with public meetings. The consultant team will develop a template for business community engagement. E. Fire, Police and Safety Administration – These organizations will be invited to public meetings and briefings (Justin and Tyler) to collect important insights on how potential alignments/routes could affect neighborhoods and safety response. They will receive a project update at project midpoint and will be sent a final copy of the study. F. Preparation of Outreach Materials – Appropriate printed and electronic materials will be prepared for each stakeholder meeting. Templates for presentations to the business community will also be prepared by the CRTIS consultant team for use by local project staff. Public Meetings A number of public events will be held, to be coordinated where possible with other scheduled transportation-related meetings and events. In addition, a pre-kickoff event will coincide with another transportation meeting. Planned meetings are as follows: A. Pre-kickoff participation in the Multi-Modal Center Public Meeting of July 9, 2015 – CRTIS consultant team will prepare a project fact sheet and will be present at the meeting to distribute the fact sheet and answer questions. CRTIS consultant team will present slides outlining objectives and timeline. B. A project kick-off public meeting will be held to inform the public about CRTIS and collect initial input. 1) Target date of meeting – Mid-October 2015 2) In late September 2015 there are several public meetings for other projects that will be held in the Chattanooga area: the Multi-Modal Center final public meeting, CHRPA’s regional planning meeting, and a Regional Transportation Forum being planned by a group of transportation related agencies. The date of the kick-off meeting will not conflict with established dates for those meetings. August 25, 2015 Public Involvement Plan - 2 C. A second public meeting will be held to evaluate and refine alternatives. 1) Target Date of Meeting Mid-January 2016 D. Public workshops will be held to engage the public, stakeholders, businesses and neighborhood groups in visioning transit-ready development along the corridor. Three workshops will be held with the locations to be determined after initial public meeting in October. 1) Target date of workshops – Mid-January 2016, in conjunction with the timing of the second public meeting. E. A final public meeting will be held to gather public input on the transit alternatives identified by the CRTIS. 1) Target date of public meeting April 2016 F. Preparation of Meeting Materials – printed and electronic materials will be prepared for each public event in English and Spanish language versions. G. Meeting Notices will be distributed via several channels that may include: 1) Project web page 2) Social media 3) Emails to stakeholder list 4) Emails to individuals who sign up to receive information about CRTIS 5) Flyers posted in public buildings 6) Official notice in the newspaper of record 7) Public service announcements to all media outlets in Hamilton County Digital Communications To allow the public to have continuous access to information about CRTIS and ongoing opportunities to provide input, digital communication will be utilized and updated regularly. A. Project web page www.chattanooga.gov/rail will be maintained on the City of Chattanooga’s web site. 1) The web page will allow the public to sign up to receive information about CRTIS via email. 2) Meeting notices will be posted on the page. 3) Meeting materials will be linked to the page. B. Social Media will also be used to provide information about CRTIS. 1) Facebook and Twitter will be utilized with regular postings throughout the project. The CRTIS team will suggest postings, and review all official postings before they are posted to ensure that communications about CRTIS are consistent. 2) Hashtags will be used to help identify postings related to CRTIS. 3) The Facebook and Twitter accounts to be used will be determined by the City and CARTA. The desired method is to use existing, well-established accounts with many followers. The responsibility for posting to social media will primarily be the August 25, 2015 Public Involvement Plan - 3 responsibility of the City or CARTA staff who manage the social media accounts. The Consultant team will provide technical content and collaborate on the messaging as requested by the City staff. Stakeholder Committee A. Identify stakeholders – The City of Chattanooga has compiled a preliminary list of stakeholders. CRTIS consultants will work with the City and CARTA to fully develop the list. The City will provide access to the City’s Smartsheet contact database to designated consultant team members to enable maintenance of the list. The stakeholder list will be updated throughout the duration of the study (Justin and Tyler). B. From the stakeholder list, in consultation with the City, a Stakeholder Committee will be identified. C. The consultant team will plan and facilitate regular meetings of the Stakeholder Committee D. Local planning and transportation agencies should be represented on the Stakeholder Committee, including but not limited to: 1) City of Chattanooga 2) Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority 3) Chattanooga-Hamilton County/North Georgia Transportation Planning Organization 4) Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency 5) Hamilton County 6) Airport Authority 7) Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce 8) Downtown business organizations 9) Glass House Collective 10) Enterprise South business stakeholders 11) Rossville Blvd business organizations 12) Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum 13) Local Tourism Officials 14) Neighborhood Association leaders from surrounding corridor 15) Hamilton County Rail Authority 16) CSX 17) Norfolk Southern 18) Chattanooga Housing Authority 19) Chattanooga Enterprise CDC August 25, 2015 Public Involvement Plan - 4 Engagement of Right of Way and Property Owners near Potential Transit Stops A. The City of Chattanooga has committed to conduct door-to-door canvassing in areas where transit-ready development could occur. 1) The City would recruit volunteers