SCRTD staff press to be designated recipient to speed FTA 5307 funds; selects consultant for 10‑year plan pending board action

District staff warned members Wednesday that disbursements of federal FTA Section 5307 urbanized area formula funds have been delayed by an interagency split‑letter process that routes New Mexico’s portion through Sun Metro, the designated recipient for the El Paso urbanized area. Staff said they are taking legal and elected‑official steps to seek local designation so the district could receive New Mexico’s share directly.

“We are entitled to funds from that,” Tim McDaniel told the board in a presentation describing the Sun Metro service expansion policy (SEP) and the requirement that Sun Metro issue a split letter to the Federal Transit Administration before New Mexico subrecipients receive their allocations. McDaniel said Sun Metro’s SEP conditions include submission of a transit development plan (TDP), annual reporting, continued funding in the UZA and resolutions of support.

McDaniel said the district submitted a draft TDP in May 2022 and received conditional approval from Sun Metro and the metropolitan planning organization in October 2024; that conditional approval requires further edits at the annual review and “could cause delays with fiscal year 2026 funds.” He said FY2024 funding of $630,149 was released by the FTA on April 1, 2024, and that the split letter required for additional funds remains pending the district’s approval of a related agreement and MPO action.

To reduce the bureaucratic delay, McDaniel said staff have begun discussions with legal counsel and elected officials to seek designation of SCRTD as the designated recipient for the New Mexico portion of the El Paso UZA. “This designation would remove Sun Metro from the process altogether, saving both agencies time and energy on bureaucratic red tape,” he said, and could shorten receipt times from “a year or more to a matter of days or weeks.”

Separately in the meeting, procurement officer Sarah Vasquez presented the 10‑year transit service and financial plan procurement. Vasquez said the RFP (listed on the district website as 2024‑01) drew several attendees to the bidders’ conference but only one firm submitted an offer. The lone responsive bidder, listed in the submittal as SBLBF, received a technical score of 92.75 and quoted $95,430 for the work. The scope includes regulatory compliance assistance, low‑ and no‑emission transition planning, route analysis, scheduling and stakeholder engagement.

Vasquez and staff noted that the board previously approved a funding allocation of $100,000 for the 10‑year plan in an earlier action and that the district’s bylaws permit executive staff to sign procurements up to $100,000; staff said they will confirm legal requirements with counsel. Because the meeting lacked a quorum, the board did not take formal action on the procurement at Wednesday’s session.

Adam Shea, finance officer, separately reviewed audited fixed assets year‑over‑year data showing growth in the district’s fixed assets beginning in 2020 and a 33.5% increase in 2024 over 2023, reflecting fleet and facility investments. He said the district’s fixed assets started at about $371,180 in 2016 and rose substantially as the agency expanded its fleet and opened the Summit Parkway facility.

Staff asked the board to authorize two parallel follow‑ups: pursue designated‑recipient status for the New Mexico portion of the El Paso UZA and finalize procurement procedures for the 10‑year plan with legal confirmation. Staff said they will return to the board with formal agreements and any required resolutions when quorum is available.