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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommuter Rail Committee-Agenda Packets-5/21/2008~,,ity c~} ,...__ _ _ ~..._l~ ....................-_ -- c.. C ---.__ ^ ~ ! (~: __ ,` __~. Texas PUBLIC NOTICE COMMUTER RAIL SUBCOMMITTEE AGENDA Public Information Team Wednesday, May 21, 2008 6:30 P.M. City Hall, City Manager's Office Conference Room 100 Main Street Third Floor The agenda for this meeting will be as follows: 1. Call to Order 2. Approval of minutes for May 12, 2009 3. Discussion a. Review strategies previously discussed for gathering public input on the commuter rail project b. Review and discuss strategies for disseminating information to the public on the commuter rail project, specifically the open meetings scheduled at the Colleyville Center June 19, June 25, and Juty 8. i. Discuss the meeting format, committee role, needed supplies and other preparation necessary for the meetings ii. Select dates for the fourth meeting at the Senior Center iii. Review the fact sheet and finalize document preparation c. Finalize implementation measures regarding these strategies and determine additional action items for consideration 4. Citizen Comments 5. Adjournment 1 certify that this notice was posted on the City Hall Bulletin Board on Friday, May 16, 2008, by 5:00 pm. i~s~--'' Kelly Cooper Assistant City Manager ~,itY oI ~~-.::v ....__......_..._. .. . ~.._h ~ . , _.. o C _~-- 7`exa COMMUTER RAIL COMMITTEE Minutes from Friday, May 12, 2008 1. Call to Order Urmesh Shah, Chair, called the meeting to order at 6:33 p.m. Present: Urmesh Shah, Bartley Butler, Kristen O'Regan, James Day, and John Gooding Absent at role call: All were present. Staff: Kelly Cooper 2. Discussion a. Strategies for gathering public input on the commuter rail project Staff provided input regarding options based on previous meetings as well as provided an overview of a most recent educational campaign as provided by Mona Gandy, Communications Manager. Urmesh Shah, Chair, led the discussion regarding the approach, receiving input from HOA, larger groups, asking questions regarding ridership issues and providing some type of fact sheet were all part of the discussion. Kristen O'Regan also included the possibility of signs by the railroad tracks informing citizen that the train is coming and to find more information by going to the website. Other options discussed were the utility billing inserts, Colleyville Communicator, providing information at various public buildings. Two formats should be considered both electronic and paper. b. Strategies for disseminating information to the public on the commuter rail project Commuter Rail Committee Minutes May 12, 20081 Page 2 of 3 Some time was spent discussing the timeline for completion of public input and it was determined that a large portion of time should be spent on education as stated by John Gooding. It was determined that there is a need to gather initial input then submit this information to other sub groups. The second phase of the information teams project would be education, answering citizen's questions. The third phase would be asking for feedback once again. The subcommittee determined that September 1, 2008 is the date that all final education and input would take place. Preliminary educational meetings will take place in June 2008 July and August provide updates on the website and utility billing inserts Kristen is creating the fact sheet Urmesh is creating the letter to be sent to HOA's. May 21, 2008, 6:30 p.m. is the next working meeting for this group Would like all documents ready and prepared for June 2, 2008 meeting Once approved would like to have it on the website by June 6, 2008. c. Best ways to research and implement these strategies Will look at the Colleyville Center for public meetings Format will include asmall/brief presentation then divide the large group into a smaller group format so everyone is comfortable in presenting their suggestions. Dates for consideration are: Tuesday June 10; Wednesday June 18, and Thursday June 26 and another one at the Senior Center (either T, W, Th, F at 11:00 but not the first or third week) How to notify the Public: Utility billing inserts, newspaper, possibly signs, HOA's, Website, Cable Channel, information in Public facilities such as Colleyville Center and Lobby of City Hall. Initial Public Notification will include a list of initial issues; main purpose is to get feedback Can we get dates in for the meetings into the utility billing inserts? Courier press release and HOA mailing Updated calendar of next meeting dates 3. Citizen Comments One citizen spoke offering suggestions to the committee. Commuter Rail Committee Minutes May 12, 2008 /Page 3 of 3 4. Adjournment There being no further business, Chair Urmesh Shah adjourned the meeting at 8:10 p.m. Minutes taken and prepared by Kelly Cooper. May 16, 2008 To: Homeowners Association Liaisons From; Colleyville Commuter Rail Committee Re: Southwest to Northeast Commuter Rail and Proposed John McCain Station This letter is to inform your neighborhood that the Fort Worth Transit Authority (The T) is planning to expand commuter rail service from Fort Worth to Grapevine and DFW International Airport. The initial proposal includes a potential rail station in Colleyville at the intersection of John McCain Road and State Highway 26. The Colleyville City Council has established a rail committee to study the impact of the proposed commuter rail line, including whether it is in the best interest of Colleyville to have a station within our city limits. The results of this study are to be presented to the City Council by December 2008. The Colleyville Commuter Rail Committee will act as a conduit for information-getting information about the proposed rail line and station to the public and garnering feedback on the various issues related to the commuter rail line. To facilitate this, the rail committee is scheduling a series of four public meetings-each identical in nature to reach as many interested Colleyville citizens as possible You can help by distributing this letter to the homeowners in your HOA. The public meeting dates are as follows: 1) June 19, 2008, 7:00 p.m., Colleyville Center 2) June 25, 2008, 7:00 p.m., Colleyville Center 3) July 8, 2008 7:00 p.m., Colleyville Center 4) The date and time for the fourth meeting are still to be determined. The location will be the Colleyville Senior Center. In addition, information about the proposed rail line will soon be available on the city's website at Colleyville.com. The T's commuter rail website is sw2nerail.com. To submit a written comment, go to the city's website, on the right hand side under Quick Links, and click on Citizen's Requests ft Comments. We request that you help us get this information to the residents in your HOA. Please feel free to copy or attach this letter to a mass email to your group. It is critical that every Colleyville citizen has the opportunity to attend a public meeting to increase their knowledge about the proposed rail line/station and to provide feedback, This is an important issue to Colleyville and everyone should be heard. We look forward to seeing you and your neighbors at one of the meetings. If you have any questions or require any additional information, please call 817.503.1111. Public Information Subcommittee Colleyville Commuter Rail Committee Outline for Information Sheet for Commuter Rail Committee Contents: Introduction/Overview Five Study Groups Facts Introduction/ Overview Colleyville is currently considering the viability of building a commuter rail station within the city. The news that the T is planning a commuter rail that will travel from downtown Ft. Worth to Grapevine and eventually on to DFW prompted Colleyville to begin investigating the possibility of having its own station for service beginning in 2012/13. The initial steps taken in the investigation were to hire Turco and Associates to execute the 2008 Col%yville Rail Transit Awareness Survey, and form a committee of citizens to study the pros and cons of a train station here. This information page is provided by that committee to keep residents informed about our progress and share what we are learning. Please see the City Calendar for our meetings as they are all open for the public to attend. At our first meeting the T came and spoke about the Southwest-to- Northeast Rail Corridor, Turco and Associates gave a presentation about their survey findings and public input was given. Based on that input, we came up with a list of concerns that we then divided into groups that can be studied by sub-groups to report back to the full committee. We plan to provide plenty of opportunities for public input as we hope to represent what is best for Colleyville. As we gain information the "Facts" portion of this page will grow to inform residents of what we are finding. We have identified five major headings that encompass all our questions and concerns. Each of these headings has been assigned a small group of committee members to study. Each will look at what needs to be done if indeed a station is recommended and what needs to be done if a station is not recommended. Our goal is that the answers we come up with will point to the correct recommendation for our city residents today and in the future. Five Study Groups Financial How will the station be maintained, since the T will own it? Where does the $750K go? What are we paying for? What are the initial costs and how is it funded? What are the maintenance costs and how is it funded? Where is the money coming from since we're C~ the sales tax cap? How is noise mitigation funded? Who gets the revenue from the Kiss and Park facility? Is it shared with the city? What is the economic impact to home owners? What is the effect on property values? Is there funding available from the Federal Government? Is a station economically good for Colleyville? Will it reduce taxes? Station Impacts Physical site review -impact on water, trees and views? What will the station look like? What are the environmental impacts of each possible location? Park and Ride - is there overnight parking and what is the impact? How is noise handled - of train and its equipment. Air quality. Funding for noise mitigatioin. The Ts environmental study. What other transportation is required for those who reach the city? Traffic John McCain site -access issues/ traffic flow. How to get people to the station -Mass transit? Shuttle? Capture funding? Intersection traffic with station? Rail crossing intersection effect on traffic? Other mass transit options? How to transport citizens to other locations? Public Information How to keep the public informed? How and when to best get public input? Safety and Security Crossing Safety. Quality of existing tracks for expected use. Safety along tracks away from crossings. Crime rates -crime rate changes in other communities that added a station? Safety -city police department. What elements are being introduced to town? Security of residents at the station. Facts A committee has been formed to study the downfalls and benefits of having a commuter rail station within the city. The site at John McCain and US 26 has been identified as the most viable location for a station. Whether Colleyville chooses to build a station or not, intentions of Dart and the THE is to have a commuter train run from Ft. Worth to Grapevine by 2012/2013. The proposed amount of money that Colleyville is required to put up is $750,000. This amount is based on negotiations Grapevine has made with the TRE. Since this is the amount that Grapevine will increase their taxes for the rail, it is expected that it will be the minimum required for other cities to put up to have a station. Colleyville is at our tax cap so our funding for a rail station would have to come from somewhere else.