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Home My WebLink AboutReports - 2023.09.21 - 40581 AGENDA ITEM: Appropriation of Oakland County Transportation Millage Funds for Planning Community Transit Service Area Development with Partner Transportation Agencies DEPARTMENT: Economic Development - Oakland County Transit Division MEETING: Board of Commissioners DATE: Thursday, September 21, 2023 9:30 AM - Click to View Agenda ITEM SUMMARY SHEET COMMITTEE REPORT TO BOARD Resolution #2023-3344 Motion to approve an appropriation in an amount not to exceed $550,000 from the available property tax revenue within the Oakland Transit Fund (#58800) for expenses related to transit planning, strategic organizational planning and public engagement and includes a 10% project contingency; further, in accordance with the Professional Services Contract policy, contractual agreements for professional services in excess of $250,000 shall be presented to the Economic Development and Infrastructure and the Finance Committees for their review and approval; further, the Board of Commissioners authorizes the designated contract administrator to execute contractual agreements, contingent upon review by Corporation Counsel and in conformance with Oakland County Purchasing Policies and Procedures; further, that the FY2024 budget is amended as detailed in the attached Schedule A. ITEM CATEGORY SPONSORED BY Budget Amendment Yolanda Smith Charles INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND OAKLAND COUNTY COMMUNITY TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN The Need Oakland Transit Millage passed in 2022 providing $64+ million annually for transit improvements. Since then, service demands have increased and community providers in the county have responded by adding over 20 vehicles to the fleet, enabling them to better serve more riders in an expanded service area. The need exists to identify underlying needs for transit services to determine how to resource the providers moving forward. The SMARTer Mobility Program will determine the plan for SMART directly operated services. This process will determine the plan for the rest. Short-term opportunities to advance sustainability, including low-/zero-emission vehicle adoption, will be incorporated into this effort. Service Planning • Scope: Community Transit providers in Oakland County not directly operated by SMART • Estimated Budget: Consultant support of the planning process including review of existing conditions, projections for future conditions, community engagement, service design resulting in recommended transit services including associated infrastructure, and organizational strategic planning supporting community transit providers, outlined below, is estimated in the order of magnitude of $500,000. The request includes a 10% contingency yielding a total request of $550,000. • Stakeholder Engagement: The process will include a robust engagement process including a Steering Committee, local officials, employers and businesses, educational institutions, health and human services, parks and recreation (including senior services), riders, and the general public • Service Plan: Scenarios/recommendations for how the providers could be configured to best serve the needs identified through a combination of market conditions analysis and Stakeholder Engagement. It will address service areas, driving boundaries, fares and payment, eligible riders and registration, days and hours of operation, trip scheduling and routing, projected ridership, and operating cost estimates. • Transit Asset Management Plan: Phasing and cost estimates for each provider’s facilities (including office and storage space needs) and fleets (including a low-/zero-emission transition plan) to support the Service Plan • Organizational Plan: Scenarios/recommendations for each provider’s organizational structure with associated staff and financial needs • Financial Plan: Phasing and funding to support the Service Plan, Transit Asset Management Plan, and Organizational Plan including budgets for Municipal/Community Credits, grant funding, Oakland Transit millage, and any other funding assistance POLICY ANALYSIS The residents of Oakland County approved a 10-year Public Transportation millage, in 2022, that provides an opportunity to coordinate, improve and expand public transportation services in all parts of the county. To further expand the public transportation services throughout the county, Oakland County has entered into contracts with the following Transportation Service Providers: Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART), the North Oakland Transportation Authority, the Western Oakland Transportation Authority, People’s Express Inc., and the Rochester Hills-Oakland-Rochester Older Persons' Commission. SMART has retained a consulting firm, Michael Baker International, to conduct an analysis of existing SMART fixed-route and microtransit service areas in Southeast Michigan that will lead to recommendations for service design and improvements for SMART's overall system efficiency and operational effectiveness. The County Transit Division has identified the need to conduct a countywide Community Transit Area planning process that will include meaningful public engagement, travel demand forecasting, creating strategic plans for the Transportation Service Providers, determining service guidelines, and developing Goals, Objectives, Strategies and Performance Measures to implement an expanded, coordinated, equitable and cohesive transportation system that people find easy to use. Funding for a one-time professional services contract for Public Transportation Strategic Planning is to be provided from the use of available property tax revenue within the Oakland Transit Fund (#58800). The Oakland County Transit Ad Hoc committee reviewed this request for funding and approved it unanimously at their August meeting. BUDGET AMENDMENT REQUIRED: Yes Committee members can contact Michael Andrews, Policy and Fiscal Analysis Supervisor at 248.425.5572 or andrewsmb@oakgov.com, or the department contact persons listed for additional information. CONTACT Eli Cooper, Manager Transit ITEM REVIEW TRACKING Aaron Snover, Board of Commissioners Created/Initiated - 9/21/2023 AGENDA DEADLINE: 09/21/2023 9:30 AM ATTACHMENTS 1. Planning Community Transit Service Area Development Budget Amendment - Schedule A 2. Community Transit Project Overview COMMITTEE TRACKING 2023-09-20 Economic Development & Infrastructure - Recommend and Forward to Finance 2023-09-20 Finance - Recommend to Board 2023-09-21 Full Board - Adopt Motioned by: Commissioner Yolanda Smith Charles Seconded by: Commissioner Brendan Johnson Yes: David Woodward, Michael Spisz, Karen Joliat, Kristen Nelson, Robert Hoffman, Philip Weipert, Gwen Markham, Angela Powell, Marcia Gershenson, Janet Jackson, Yolanda Smith Charles, Charles Cavell, Brendan Johnson, Ajay Raman (14) No: Christine Long (1) Abstain: None (0) Absent: William Miller III, Gary McGillivray, Michael Gingell, Penny Luebs (4) Passed Oakland County, Michigan Economic Development - Request to Enter into Professional Services Contract for Community Transit Service Area Development Planning including Organizational Strategic Planning for Partner Transportation Agencies and Appropriation of Oakland County Transportation Millage Funds Schedule "A" DETAIL R/E Fund Name Division Name Fund # (FND)Cost Center (CCN) # Account # (RC/SC) Program # (PRG)Grant ID (GRN) # Project ID # (PROJ) Region (REG) Budget Fund Affiliate (BFA) Ledger Account Summary Account Title FY 2024 Amendment FY 2025 Amendment FY 2026 Amendment R Oakland Transit Transit Division FND58800 CCN1090801 RC665882 PRG172155 Planned Use of Balance $550,000.00 $-$- Total Revenues $550,000.00 $-$- E Oakland Transit Transit Division FND58800 CCN1090801 SC730373 PRG172155 Contracted Services $550,000.00 $-$- Total Expenditures $550,000.00 $-$- Community Transit Development Planning 09/05/2023 Economic Development and Infrastructure Committee Presentation •Oakland County Transit System •Traveler Demands •Community Transit Development Planning 2 Overview 3 Oakland County Transit System Fall 2022 Service Providers September 2023 Service Providers 4 Oakland County Transit System SMART Expansion •Total CBT Ridership 6/30 •SMART Ridership 5 Oakland County Transit System - Tools •Community Transit Providers •Elderly •Disabled •Low Income •Veterans and other specialized needs •Gaps •General Public •Real-Time Service •Hours and Days of Service •Transfers •Others •Future needs •County Employment and Population Growth 6 Traveler Demands Oakland County Population 2020 SEMCOG Estimates 2050 SEMCOG Projections 7 Traveler Demands 225,657 Seniors 65+ 18% 1,048,738 Other 82% Total Population: 1,274,395 308,928 Seniors 65+ 22% 1,078,910 Other 78% Total Population: 1,387,838 •Incremental Response •Adding as we grow – 22% increase in ridership since the beginning of the year •14 new vehicles out on the road, 13 more on order •Facility pressures and shortcomings •Staffing challenges •Future unknowns •Strategic Response •Service Plan •Organizational Plan •Financial Plan •Asset Management Plan 8 Community Transit Development Planning This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY •Robust Public Engagement •Project Management Steering Committee •Riders •Local Officials •Economic Interests •Medical Facilities •Employers •Educational Institutions •Community Stakeholders •Senior Centers •Veterans •Parks •Others 9 Community Transit Development Planning •Better Understanding about Travel Patterns •Population characteristics •Socio-Economic and Demographic Analysis •Travel Demand Forecasting •Aligning Capacity with Demands •Modernizing route design practices •Scheduling multi-passenger trips •Real time trip fulfillment •Transfers between operators •Independent Professional Opinion/Expertise •Experienced Professional Perspective •Unbiased Clear Vision •Multi-disciplinary 10 Community Transit Development Planning •Organizational Strategic Planning •Incorporate Service Development into multi-year operational planning •Staffing •Fleets •Size •Configuration •Asset Management •Sustainability – Propulsion Technology •Facilities •Office Space •Operations including transfer hubs •Vehicle Storage •Maintenance 11 Community Transit Development Planning Next Steps •SMARTer Mobility Program •Public Engagement – Fall •Microtransit and Fixed Route Services •Draft 2024 Provider Agreements •Community Transit Development Planning •Retain Project Team •Public Engagement •Service Plan •Organizational Plans 12 Discussion 13 Oakgov.com/OaklandTransit Eli Cooper, AICP Oakland County Transit Division Manager Phone: (248) 975-9876 Email: cooperel@oakgov.com