Aaron Youngenellen, executive director and program coordinator for AMATS, briefed the policy committee on the proposed 2027–2030 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), outlining four funding streams and procedural limits that shape what can go into the four-year program.

Youngenellen said AMATS’ direct funding pot is roughly $50,000,000 per year (about $200,000,000 across 2027–2030) for complete-streets projects, active-transportation projects, planning and studies, pavement replacement and transit capital, but not transit operating expenses. He said state Department of Transportation (DOT) funding for National Highway System (NHS) and Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) projects is handled separately by DOT and is larger in scale; Youngenellen described that pot as roughly $145,000,000 per year. Transit capital funds from the Federal Transit Administration total about $17,000,000 per year reflected in the TIP, and a smaller “other” category (primarily older earmarks and discretionary grants) is shown at roughly $24,000,000 across the period, dependent on actual awards.

On the program’s fiscal rules, Youngenellen said fiscal constraint requires that “you have to demonstrate that you have enough money to implement what you’re putting into your program,” meaning revenues and expected receipts (with inflation factored) must justify programmed projects. He added that AMATS can fund eligible project elements on any road within the MPO boundary: “We can fund any road that’s within our boundary,” he said, while noting projects outside the boundary cannot be programmed.

Youngenellen walked members through change categories for the TIP: amendments (used to add or delete projects or when a project’s cost changes by 50% or more), administrative modifications (technical corrections), and staff-level changes (minor edits that do not require TAC or policy-committee approval). He described the amendment timeline: staff-level work typically begins in October, the public-comment period starts in January (federal minimum 30 days; AMATS typically uses 45 days to accommodate an Assembly hearing), and final policy-committee approval usually occurs in March. He warned that federal rules can require re-noticing of major changes made after a document goes out for comment, which can lengthen schedules and complicate obligations tied to the federal fiscal year.

Youngenellen also described a procedural change to nominations: instead of a separate call for TIP nominations each cycle, AMATS plans to concentrate nominations through the Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) process and pull projects from the MTP into the TIP, with staff exploring an 8-year nomination window to reflect long delivery timelines.

The presentation included examples of ongoing or large projects already in the program (Fireweed, Spenard, Fish Creek, Downtown Trail Connection) and staff reasoning about including lower-cost, more deliverable projects in the near-term TIP. Youngenellen said DOT-identified NHS and HSIP projects are provided by the state, and AMATS incorporates them into the TIP; the state selects NHS/HSIP projects and submits lists, while the policy committee has final approval over what is included in the TIP.

Youngenellen closed by saying AMATS will monitor federal reauthorization and discretionary-grant availability and adjust assumptions as necessary. The policy committee opened follow-up questions on classification, ownership, and schedule before moving to other business.

The TIP amendment for 2027–2030 will follow the described timeline: staff work beginning in October, public comment in January, and policy-committee consideration in March, with any amendment-level changes meeting the re-notice thresholds required by federal regulations.