West Santa Ana Branch City Manager Technical Advisory Committee Thursday, July 15, 2021, 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM TELECONFERENCE MEETING VIA ZOOM Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_z7dIEX8pRvC-IzboBukZ0Q Phone: 669.900.6833 Meeting ID: 820 6603 0727 AGENDA 1. Welcome John Moreno, Chair 2. Approval of Minutes 15 min. 3. Update on Environmental Process Meghna Khanna Senior A. Document Release and Review Period Director, Mobility Corridor, B. Comment Submittal & Public Participation Countywide Planning 15 min. 4. Update on Federal Funding Efforts Raffi Hamparian, Senior A. Congressional Efforts Director for Federal Affairs, B. Metro Efforts Government Relations 20 min. 5. Update on First/Last Mile Guidelines Jacob Lieb, Senior Director, A. Adopt FLM Guidelines FLM Planning B. FLM Planning Process, Roles and Responsibilities Katie Lemmon, Senior C. 3% Local Contribution Guidance Manager, FLM Planning D. Metro Support for Implementation 10 min. 6. Update on WSAB Project Efforts John Moreno, Chair A. Metro Board Action on Subregional Funding B. Request for Economic Information C. City Manager TAC Public Involvement Schedule D. Master Cooperative Agreements 7. Other City Manager TAC Items and Discussion 8. Propose Next CM TAC Meeting – Thursday, August 12, 2021, Via ZOOM Focus: Environmental Document Review and Initial LPA Discussion 9. Adjournment 2. Approval of Minutes MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE GATEWAY CITIES COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS West Santa Ana Branch City Manager Technical Advisory Committee June 10, 2021 Teleconference Meeting Via ZOOM PRESENT: Chair, John Moreno, City of Paramount Vice Chair, Gilbert Livas, City of Downey Jeff Stewart, City of Bellflower Art Gallucci, City of Cerritos Raul Alvarez, City of Huntington Park Elaine Kunitake, County of Los Angeles County Chris Jeffers, City of South Gate ABSENT: William Rawlings, City of Artesia Paul Phillips, City of Bell Michael O’Kelly, City of Bell Gardens Santor Nishizaki, City of Cudahy Jennifer Vasquez, City of Maywood Carlos Fandino, City of Vernon ALSO PRESENT: Electeds: Luke Klipp, Office of Supervisor Hahn. County/Cities:, Jamie Hwang, County of Los Angeles; Karen Lee, City of Artesia; Len Gorecki, City of Bellflower; Torrey Contreras, City of Cerritos; Vaniah De Rojas, Aldo Schindler, City of Downey; Cesar Roldan, City of Huntington Park. Metro: Meghna Khanna, Ashad Hamideh, Adam Stephenson, Mark Dierking, Metro Staff. Eco-Rapid Transit: Allyn Rifkin. Gateway Cities COG: Nancy Michali, WSAB City Manager TAC staff; Karen Heit, Joel Arevalos, Sandra Mora, GCCOG staff. Other: Adam Christian, Ernest & Young. Chairperson John Moreno called the meeting to order at 2:06 pm. He welcomed everyone to the meeting, and said that we have a full agenda of substantial issues to discuss and let’s get started. Item 2. Update on Status of Master Cooperative Agreements Chairperson Moreno introduced the topic of completing the required Master Cooperative Agreements. Four cities have completed the process – Bell, Downey, Huntington Park and Paramount – and South Gate is moving ahead on finishing theirs up. He offered help to any of the remaining cities. Mr. Moreno emphasized the importance of completing the MCA process – it is really important to moving the project forward. Vice Chair Livas offered to reach out to the City of Vernon. Item 3. Update on City Manager TAC’s 3% Local Contribution Efforts Chairperson Moreno updated the CM TAC on the efforts being made on addressing city concerns related to the required 3% Local Contribution obligation. We have moved forward on securing assistance from the Gateway Cities COG on securing Measure M Subregional Equity funds for the WSAB cities to use in 1 meeting their funding obligations. The request was presented to and approved by the elected officials of the Eco-Rapid Transit Board, who directed their Executive Director to prepare and submit a letter requesting funding assistance to the COG. CM TAC staff is working with COG staff to prepare a funding request to Metro. The Measure M funding will be used to offset the enormous cost each city faces in meeting their local contribution obligation. Item 4. Update on WSAB Project Chairperson Moreno introduced Meghna Khanna, Project Manager to provide a WSAB Project Update (Project Update presentation attached). The topics included in her presentation were – Draft Environmental Document (DEIS/R) Status and Review - Project Alternatives Overview - Environmental Schedule - DEIR – Environmental Superior vs Staff Preferred Alternative Third Party Engagement Project New Starts Grants Assessment and Cost Range. Draft Environmental: Project Alternatives Four alternatives were studied in the Draft Environmental Impact Study/Report (DEIS/R) – Two full alignment alternatives (Alternatives 1 and 2 with different terminus points in downtown Los Angeles to Pioneer Station in Artesia); and Two partial alignment alternatives – Alternative 3 Slauson/A Line to Pioneer Station, and Alternative 4 I-105/C Line to Pioneer Station. Ms. Khanna provided an overview of the major project elements of the four alternatives, including alignment length, number of stations, number and type of crossings (street, freight, freeway and river crossings), miles of shared right-of-way with freight rail operations, miles of freight relocations needed, maintenance storage facility and number of park and ride facilities. Maps and details of the alternatives were presented, along with a Comparison Summary Table. Environmental Schedule Ms. Khanna stated the DEIS/R document is planned for release for public review in July 2021. There will a 45-day comment period, which will include public hearings and community outreach. The Metro Board will select a Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) in the October/November timeframe. The Metro Board is expected to select the LPA, following the release and comment period for the Draft EIS/R. The LPA will then be advanced for further analysis and included in the Final EIS/EIR, which is expected to be released in Summer 2022. DEIR: Environmental Superior vs Staff Preferred Alternatives The Draft EIR/S will include two LPA alternatives – An Environmentally Superior Alternative, which is a requirement under CEQA and is based on the results of the technical analysis of the alternatives prepared in support of the Draft EIS/R. This alternative is identified as the alternative that has an environmental advantage over the other alternatives under consideration. - The goal of identifying the environmentally superior alternative is to assist decision-makers. - Metro is not required by CEQA to select the environmentally superior alternative as the approved project. A Staff Preferred Alternative, so named to differentiate it from the Locally Preferred Alternative. 2 Ms. Khanna explained both NEPA and CEQA recommend identifying the Staff Preferred Alternative in the Draft EIS/EIR. This alternative is identified based on an evaluation of the full environmental impact assessment conducted for the No Build and Build Alternatives; and considers an assessment of which alternative would best meet the Project’s identified Purpose and Need. Metro staff will determine if the Staff Preferred Alternative should be recommended to the Metro Board of Directors for selection as the Locally Preferred Alternative. However, as elected representatives of the community, the Metro Board can modify the staff recommendation, or select another alternative if they think it would best meet the Project Purpose and Need. Metro staff has continued working on Third-Party Coordination through the following efforts – Caltrans – preparing the required PSR/PR in a parallel effort to the DEIS/R. USACE – preparing work on geotechnical information required for the design and construction of the required river crossings. UPRR – sharing the project alternatives, providing an overview of the environmental analysis, and seeking their review and comment. Stakeholder Working Forums through on-line interactive tools. City of Cerritos resident comments on the project and Metro’s responses. On-going efforts have continued to prepare for future Enabling Works, including – Utilities verification, which has identified 64 utility providers and 213 utility conflicts. Survey and right-of-way mapping updates and verification of the project alignment. Comments/Questions Chair Moreno asked for comments and questions on Ms. Khanna’s presentation, and hearing none moved on to the second portion of the WSAB Project Update. Ms. Khanna introduced Ashad Hamideh from Metro’s Financial Group to talk about Metro’s New Starts Grants Assessment and the updated estimated cost range for the WSAB Project. Mr. Hamideh started his presentation by explaining that Metro staff recently completed an assessment and prioritization of Metro projects for Federal New Starts Grants, which has been approved by the Metro Board. The purpose of this effort was to identify opportunities and constraints for New Starts grants funding from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for Metro projects. The efforts focused on two of the FTA’s funding programs: 1) the Capital Investment Grants (CIG) Program; and 2) the Expedited Project Delivery (EIFD) for the CIG Pilot Program. These assessment efforts resulted in Metro Board approval of: Project-specific recommendations for pursuing New Starts grants; and Recommendations on targeted CIG/EIFD legislation and a FTA engagement strategy. Project Assessment Based on their many years in securing CIG