Rich, a regional transportation staff member, opened a multi-month series of briefings on federal transportation planning and the role of metropolitan planning organizations, saying the CNV MPO and the COG coordinate long-range visioning, federal compliance and project programming. He described the Metropolitan Transportation Plan as the 20-year vision document and the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) as the fiscally constrained four-year list that controls which projects receive federal funds.

"The TIP is the actual fiscally constrained listing of projects that are expected to receive any federal funding over the 4 year period of this document," Rich said, explaining that the MPO has authority to approve TIP amendments that determine how federal money is spent in the region.

Staff walked members through the planning documents the MPO maintains, including the public participation plan and Title VI nondiscrimination requirements, and demonstrated a real-time project portal (Eco Interactive) that shows project status and funding breakdowns.

The board considered and voted on a single TIP amendment: adding a project under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program to fund charger installations on state-designated alternative-fuel corridors. Rich said the amendment (project ID referenced orally at the meeting) would release federal funding to local entities and private developers to install chargers within one mile of interchanges on Interstate 84, Interstate 95, Interstate 395 and Route 7. He noted that the local match for many installations is expected to come primarily from private entities rather than municipal budgets.

Prospect's representative moved to adopt the resolution to amend the TIP; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. Meeting minutes reflect the board acted to modify the TIP so the NEVI project can proceed to implementation.

The board was reminded that TIP amendments roll up into the statewide program and that approving an amendment is a formal step required to allow federal funding to be spent on the newly programmed project. Rich encouraged members with town-specific concerns to contact transportation planning staff so staff can gather required information prior to future votes.