RTC unanimously approves three grant applications, traffic-safety LOI and contract amendment

The Carson City Regional Transportation Commission on March 12 voted unanimously to submit three Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) grant applications, to submit a letter of intent and grant application to the Nevada Department of Public Safety Office of Traffic Safety for a community bicycle- and pedestrian-safety campaign, and to approve Amendment No. 1 to a consultant contract for cultural-resources work related to a pedestrian-safety project.

HSIP applications

The commission approved submission of three HSIP applications for projects identified in the city—s local road safety plan. Kelly Norman, senior transportation planner, described the three projects as Curry Street, a newly created Solomon Road School Routes improvement project and the College Parkway and Fairview pedestrian safety project. Staff said a recent pre-application meeting with NDOT indicated the projects meet HSIP eligibility.

The motion to submit the applications was moved by Member Schuette and seconded (recorded). The meeting record shows the vote as unanimous; all five members present voted yes.

The Curry Street application was described in the meeting as costing $308,750 with a local match of $16,250 (figures as stated by staff). The Solomon Road project was described in the record as having a 5% local match (staff cited $36,265 as the match figure). The requested amount for the College Parkway and Fairview pedestrian project and its grant request amount were discussed but the transcript did not clearly record a single unambiguous grant request figure; staff said a local match for that project would be $407,703 if HSIP funding is procured.

Traffic-safety grant LOI (Office of Traffic Safety)

The commission also approved submission of a letter of intent and grant application to the Nevada Department of Public Safety Office of Traffic Safety for $13,333 with a required 25% local match of $3,333 to fund a comprehensive safety-education campaign aimed at bicycle and pedestrian safety. Scott Bohemia, Western Nevada Safe Routes to School coordinator, said the proposed campaign would use print, online and social media and continue public-service announcements in movie theaters; he said prior PSAs reached about 100,000 people.

The motion to approve submission of the LOI and authorize the transportation manager to accept the grant if awarded was moved by Member Dobson and seconded (recorded). The recorded vote was unanimous.

Contract amendment for cultural-resources work

The commission approved Amendment No. 1 to Contract 25300202 with Nichols Consulting to add cultural-resources investigation services for the West Carson vulnerable-user pedestrian safety improvement project. The amendment increases the contract by $12,000 to a new not-to-exceed total of $61,900. The motion was made and seconded and the recorded vote was unanimous.

Procedural note

Commission minutes show the applications were incorporated into the CAMPO TIP project sheets earlier in the meeting. Commissioners discussed whether to prioritize the three HSIP applications if partial funding were offered; several members indicated Curry Street (already funded in part) would be top priority, then Solomon Road, and then College Parkway/Fairview, but no formal prioritization vote was recorded. Staff told the commission NDOT advised to "submit away" and that jurisdictions commonly submit multiple applications.

All three votes were recorded as unanimous in the meeting minutes.