Forward Pinellas board approves annual roll‑forward TIP amendments, including PSTA federal ferry funds transfer

The Forward Pinellas board voted unanimously Sept. 10 to approve a package of amendments and modifications to the Transportation Improvement Program, enabling unspent fiscal‑year funds to roll forward and adding several new planning and programmatic allocations. The action allows projects that did not expend all allocated money in the prior year to access those funds in the current TIP.

The amendment package includes a planned transfer of just under $5 million in Federal Transit Administration funds from the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority to the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) for regional ferry investments, a staff presentation said. It also includes a redistribution of about $300,000 annually from a Curley Road connector service to PSTA Route 19 (the Spark corridor) and four modifications that add $136,000 in federal planning funds to Forward Pinellas, just over $500,000 in surface transportation block grant funds returning to the MPO, and about $5,000 from the Transportation Disadvantage Program.

The TIP is Forward Pinellas’ five‑year short‑term program listing projects that will receive federal, state or local funding; the board updates it annually and by amendment as needed. Chelsea Faber, Forward Pinellas senior planner, explained the difference between an amendment (which adds or removes projects or changes fiscal constraint and therefore requires a roll‑call vote) and a modification (smaller, administrative changes). “A roll call is required for an amendment,” Faber said.

The board took the vote by roll call after a motion to approve the combined amendments and modifications. The roll call recorded ayes from commissioners and council members in the meeting; staff recorded the motion as carrying unanimously.

Why it matters: the roll‑forward process prevents projects from losing previously allocated federal or state funds solely because they were not spent in the prior fiscal year; the PSTA ferry fund transfer signals an increase in regional ferry investment and consolidates federal transit support for the Pinellas service provider. Forward Pinellas staff said approved changes will be transmitted to state and federal partners and posted online.

The board discussion included a brief recognition of FDOT staff responsiveness on corridor projects and a question from Commissioner Ives about how population‑based distribution of additional planning funds would be handled if MPOs merge. Faber said distribution now follows a formula based on population and that MPO Advisory Council (MPOAC) processes would determine any changes under a merger.

The amendments and modifications will be incorporated into Forward Pinellas’ TIP and transmitted to the Florida Department of Transportation and federal agencies for inclusion in state and federal programming.