METROPLAN BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

August 26, 2009

A G E N D A 1. Approval of Minutes of June 2009 2. Approval of Financial Statement for June/July 2009 3. Executive Director’s Report A. Blue Ribbon Committee on Highway Finance B. Safe Routes to School Grants C. Bryant Access Management Plan D. Lake Conway Meeting E. Board Fact Finding Trip

4. Amendments to Metroplan 457(b) Plan 5. Authorization for Opening CDs and Bank Accounts 6. Green Agenda Update

TRANSPORTATION AGENDA 7. Triennial Certification Report – Amy Heflin, FHWA A. Tri-Party Memorandum of Understanding 8. ARRA Status Report 9. Other Business to come before the Metroplan Board 10. Citizen Communications

ITEM 3. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT

A. Blue Ribbon Committee on Highway Finance The Committee has established two sub-committees, the first to study new revenues and the second to consider transferring existing general fund revenues to transportation. Mayor Townsell has been appointed to the Revenue Transfer Subcommittee and Mr. McKenzie has been appointed chairman of the New Revenues subcommittee. The next meeting of the Committee is scheduled for September 16, 2009.

B. Safe Routes to School Grants

AHTD has announced the availability of applications for the Arkansas Safe Routes to School program. The grant applications are available at www.arkansashighways.com. Deadline for applications is 3:30 PM on Friday, October 30, 2009.

C. Bryant Access Management Plan The City of Bryant has been working on location for a new road to the Saline County Airport from the Raymar Road overpass on I-30. At the City’s request, Metroplan has developed a joint Access Management Plan for the roadway. Once the City Council of Bryant adopts the plan, it will be presented to the Metroplan Board for adoption. The Metroplan Board and staff have been receiving petitions via e-mail from citizens in Bryant who are opposed to the roadway. The item is not before Metroplan at this and will not come before the Board until after the Bryant City Council has acted affirmatively on it.

D. Lake Conway Watershed Advocacy Group Faulkner county Judge Preston Scroggin has asked that Metroplan act as the convener for the Lake Conway Watershed Advocacy Group. There was a successful initial meeting on July 1, 2009 and a second meeting has been scheduled for September 14, 2009 at Faulkner County Natural Resources Center. Mr. McKenzie and Marsha Guffey will be the key Metroplan staff on this project.

E. Board Fact Finding Trip – September 8-10, 2009 Susan Dollar will provide a brief overview of the arrangements and work schedule for the Colorado Springs Fact Finding Trip.

ITEM 4. AMENDMENTS TO METROPLAN 457(b) PLAN

SUMMARY

Some minor amendments need to be made to the Metroplan 457(b) Retirement Plan. The provision adds some flexibility to the retirement plan that will allow us to accommodate less than full-time employees and still offer competitive benefits. Action Needed: Vote to approve Resolution 09-18.

AMENDMENT TO THE

METROPLAN

SECTION 457(b) PLAN

RESOLUTION 09-18

This Amendment is made this 26th day of August, 2009, by

Metroplan to the Metroplan Section 457(b) Plan (the “Plan”).

Metroplan hereby amends and modifies the Plan as follows:

Paragraph 1.11 of the Plan shall be amended in its entirety to read as

follows:

“1.11 “Eligible Employee” means, beginning with the first hour

employed, an Employee that has been employed for six months

and completed seven hundred and fifty (750) hours of service

during the said six-month period following the date of

employment. The six-month counting period will begin on the date

the Employee first completes an hour of service and ends 182 calendar

days later. In the event an Employee is employed for six months

and does not complete seven hundred and fifty (750) hours of

service, he or she will become an Eligible Employee upon

completion of seven hundred and fifty (750) hours of service

during any subsequent consecutive six month period.”

The Amendment made herein is effective as of October 1, 2009.

Where not inconsistent herewith, all the terms and provisions of the

Plan shall remain in full force and effect and Metroplan hereby ratifies and

confirms the Metroplan 457(b) Plan, as amended herein.

EXECUTED the date first set forth above.

METROPLAN

By:

Mayor Art Brooke, President

By:

Mayor Larry Mitchell, Secretary

ITEM 5. RESOLUTION FOR OPENING CDs AND BANK

ACCOUNTS

SUMMARY

Metroplan will be receiving matching funds from several jurisdictions in the near future. Our practice in the past has been to seek a board resolution authorizing each new account and/or short-term certificates of deposit used to maximize returns on the cash holdings. Rather than doing a separate resolution for each new account or certificate of deposit, this is blanket authorization to allow staff to open new accounts and buy and/or sell certificates of deposit as necessary to best manage cash flow. The Administrator will annually report to the Board changes to the accounts and certificates of deposit held by Metroplan.

Action Needed: Vote to approve Resolution 09-19

RESOLUTION 09-19

AUTHORIZING AND ENABLING THE OPENING OF CERTIFICATE OF DEPOSITS AND

ACCOUNTS FOR METROPLAN

WHEREAS, Metroplan, being good stewards of its funds, wishes to open accounts to maximize its reserves;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Directors of Metroplan hereby authorizes any one of the following: Jim McKenzie, Executive Director; Richard Magee, Deputy Director/ Director of Planning and Nila Corbell, Administrator; for and on behalf of Metroplan, to open an account or accounts with any two signatures, from the above mentioned people, needed for withdrawal or transfer of funds.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the accounts(s) is with a bank or savings and loan physically located in the Little Rock/North Little Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area and that the account(s) is fully insured by an agency of the Federal Government. This grant of authority is for calendar year 2009 only. Within 3 months after the end of the calendar year, the Administrator shall report to the Board any changes of any kind to certificates of deposit held by Metroplan.

CERTIFICATE

I, Art Brooke, do hereby certify that I am duly elected and qualified Officer of the Board of Directors of Metroplan, a not-for-profit corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Arkansas, Federal Employer I.D. Number 71-0415864, and the following is true and correct copy of a resolution duly adopted at a meeting of the Board of Directors duly and properly called and held on August 26, 2009. I further certify that the Board of Directors of Metroplan has, and at the time of this resolution had, full power and lawful authority to adopt the foregoing resolution and to confer the powers granted to the persons named who have full power and authority to exercise those stated above. In Witness Hereof, I have subscribed my name to this document on August 26, 2009. ____________________________ ____________________________ Mayor Art Brooke, President Mayor Larry Mitchell, Secretary

ITEM 6. GREEN AGENDA UPDATE

SUMMARY Jasmin Moore will give the Board an update on the Green Agenda and Green activities in the region.

1. Green Agenda Strategic Plan The Green Task Force will begin a strategic planning process to identify short-term and long-term goals for the green agenda and related programs.

The first planning session will be held during the September Green Task Force Meeting on Wednesday, September 2, 8:30-10:00am in the Jeffery Hawkins Conference Room.

2. Cap & Trade Legislative Update An Act to create clean energy jobs, achieve energy independence, reduce global warming pollution and transition to a clean energy economy (Cap and Trade bill) has been placed on the September 8, 2009 Senate Legislative Calendar.

3. Funding & Training Opportunity- Growing Healthy Communities All expenses paid for training and technical support to improve physical activity and nutrition opportunities in your community offered by the Arkansas Coalition on Obesity Prevention. Application due: September 30, 2009 Training will be held March 3- 5, 2010 at the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute—Petit Jean Mountain Growing Healthy Communities Training will share:

· policies that will connect more neighborhoods to services therefore increasing physical activity,

· projects for schools and after-school programs that will increase family and community involvement and increase the likelihood of better nutrition and physical activity,

· changes in childcare delivery systems that offer nutrition education for workers and families,

· ways in which government and worksites can offer incentives for adopting healthier lifestyles,

· and identify how all these systems can work congruently to achieve the goal of growing healthier communities.

Communities will be provided with all necessary materials and technical assistance to plan, implement and evaluate strategies to grow their own healthy community. See attached material.

4. Green the Block- National Service Day, September 11 Green the Block seeks to ensure that low-income communities and communities of color have the resources and platforms needed to access the benefits and opportunities of the growing clean-energy economy. The Pulaski County Brownfields Program is leading the coordination of a local event on September 11th to support the national Green the Block program. The event will include a block clean up event and community rally along the 12th Street corridor in Little Rock. The community rally will include tables for community green businesses, organizations, and public services (clean air, clean water, recycling, etc.). There will also be opportunities for government and community green leaders to speak about their efforts and how the community can become more involved.

5. Conway EcoFest, September 12 The City of Conway, ConwayCorp, Faulkner County Supporters of Sustainable Communities, and Log Cabin Democrat partnered together to organize the first Conway EcoFest. The Conway EcoFest will be held all day on Saturday, September 12 at Laurel Park, 2200 Block of Prince Street. The event is an interactive, educational festival to demonstrate and gain a better understanding of our impact on the environment. Visit www.conwayecofest.com for more information.

6. Little Rock Sustainability Summit, September 25-26 The City of Little Rock and Mayor Stodola’s Sustainability Commission are hosting a free Sustainability Summit at the Statehouse Convention Center designed to educate citizens and professionals about the benefits and opportunities for a green future.

Friday, September 25, 2009 1:00PM - 5:00PM Saturday, September 26, 2009 9:00AM - 5:30PM Professionals, city staff, those needing continuing education credits, city residents for all central AR cities are encouraged to attend this free event. Topics include recycling, land use & planning, green building, energy efficiency, water quality, green economy, transportation, sustainability assessments, process strategies, etc. Sessions will offer a variety of local and national speakers and provide concurrent sessions for any level of understanding.

TRANSPORTATION AGENDA

ITEM 7. TRIENNIAL CERTIFICATION REPORT

SUMMARY Every three years, the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration conduct a review of the metropolitan planning process in order to certify that it meets federal statutory and regulatory requirements. Our last certification review occurred last June. Amy Heflin of the FHWA will present the reports findings to the Board (Certification Review Report attached).

A. TRI-PARTY MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING It has been practice in this metropolitan area to define the responsibilities of Metroplan (the MPO), AHTD (state DOT) and CATA (transit provider) in the annual Unified Planning Work Program. The attached Tri-Party Memorandum of Agreement establishes that practice in writing and is in direct response to one of the recommendations in the Certification Review. ACTION NEEDED: Adoption of Resolution 09-20

RESOLUTION 09-20

AUTHORIZING EXECUTION OF

CARTS MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT

WHEREAS, Metroplan is the officially designated Metropolitan

Planning Organization (MPO) for the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway

metropolitan area; and

WHEREAS, it is in the interest of Metroplan to enter into agreement

with AHTD and CATA on these issues.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Metroplan Board

of Directors does hereby authorize execution of the attached CARTS

Memorandum of Agreement.

Duly adopted this 26th day of August 2009.

SIGNED:

Art Brook, President

Mayor, City of Ward

Attest:

Larry Mitchell, Secretary

Mayor, City of Bryant

Central Arkansas Regional Transportation Study

Memorandum of Agreement

Between

AR State Highway and Transportation Department

Central Arkansas Transit Authority

and

Metroplan

It is the purpose of this agreement to make provision for cooperative mutual

responsibilities in carrying out the metropolitan transportation planning process in

the Central Arkansas Regional Transportation Study (CARTS) area and to provide a

single agreement between Metroplan, the AR State Highway and Transportation

Department (AHTD), and the Central Arkansas Transit Authority (CATA) in

accordance with current Federal legislation.

Whereas, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act:

A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) promulgated regulations 23 CFR 450.14; and

Whereas, § 450.314 – Metropolitan Planning Agreements further requires that the

MPO, the State, and the public transportation operator cooperatively determine

their mutual responsibilities in carrying out the metropolitan transportation

planning process; and

Whereas, it is recommended that to the extent possible, a single agreement

between all responsible parties be developed to include specific provisions for

cooperatively developing and sharing information related to the development of

financial plans that support the Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) (§ 450.322),

the Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) (§ 450.324), and

development of the Annual Listing of Obligated Projects (§ 450.332).

Now, therefore, the parties do agree as follows:

To cooperatively determine their mutual responsibilities in carrying out the

metropolitan transportation planning process;

To make provisions for cooperatively developing and sharing information

related to the development of financial plans that support the MTP and the

TIP;

To cooperatively develop a listing of projects (including investments in

pedestrian walkways, and bicycle transportation facilities) for which funds

under 23 U.S.C. or 49 U.S.C. Chapter 53 were obligated in the preceding

program year,

And, that the Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) will detail and document

these responsibilities, deliverables and associated costs.

AHTD CATA Metroplan

____________ _____________ _____________ Dan Flowers, Todd Hart, Art Brooke,

Director Chairman Chairman

ITEM 8. ARRA STATUS REPORT

SUMMARY Staff will present an update to the Metroplan Board on ARRA “Stimulus” and other regional projects. To date, FHWA has obligated $4.57 Million from our $14 million allocation of ARRA funds. This includes: Project Phase Amount (Millions) Salem Rail Grade Separation Construction $3.15 Brockington Right-of-way $1.06 Military Right-of-way $0.36

ACTION NEEDED: None