August 18, 2015

Mr. John

Koenig Public Works Staff: Mr. David Fanning

Commissioner Schinhofen

called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. He also stated that in the future we do not have to put “Special Meeting” on the agenda because this board meets a minimum of quarterly, unless we have a meeting in between the monthly meetings then it would be named a “Special Meeting”.

Mr. Koenig

stated that he had nothing at this time. Commissioner Carbone stated that he will wait until the items are open for discussion. Commissioner Schinhofen stated that he asked Timothy Sutton from the District Attorney’s office to present and discuss the NRS and help us hone down and narrow in on what the duties of the RTC are at the next meeting. Commissioner Schinhofen also stated that he thinks we need to be more project driven rather than just maintenance because a lot of the budget ends up being spent on maintenance items. He believes that through the NRS we should be identifying and approving projects like the ones we are going to discuss today. Continued from Item 9…Commissioner Carbone stated that we need to start looking at the northern end of the county’s roads. Mr. Fanning stated that in 2014/2015 we Regional Transportation Commission – Minutes August 18, 2015 discussed Pablo Canyon Road off of HWY 376 that leads into the subdivision of Hadley. Commissioner Schinhofen stated that he would like to discuss it on the next agenda along with the presentation from Timothy Sutton.

Commissioner Carbone

made a motion to approve the minutes. Mr. John Koenig second. Motion approved. Passed 3-0

Commissioner Schinhofen

stated that since we are going to be discussing all three of these items that it might be a good idea to open them all at this time because some may influence the others. He then stated that we will start with this item and if we start to discuss the others then he will open all three. Commissioner Schinhofen asked if there was anything new from the last meeting. Mr. Fanning stated no, there is nothing new from the last meeting discussions. Commissioner Schinhofen understands that there is about $800,000.00 left in the SRS Funds. Mr. Fanning stated that he is not sure what the total is but he can look it up. Commissioner Schinhofen stated that since this is a bus route we should use about half of the SRS money ($400,000.00) and the rest of the money that is in 205 that was taken over from 207 and also stated that this is why he believes we have the authority to approve this and use it for this project. Commissioner Schinhofen asked Mr. Fanning if the total cost would be 1.4 million. Mr. Fanning stated that it is determined by what they want for width and that’s why he put that in the last meeting, so they could make a decision. Mr. Fanning stated that at the widest point it would be 1.7 million and the narrowest was approximately $900,000.00.

Commissioner Schinhofen

stated that if we are going to build a road and build it to last 25 years then we should do go ahead and build it like we are everywhere else at 38’. Mr. Fanning stated he is correct. Commissioner Schinhofen stated that this is his suggestion and turned it over to the other members.

Commissioner Carbone

asked if that meets the other portions of the road. Mr. Fanning stated that is what we talked about last time and we do have all the right- of-ways to do the 38’. Mr. Fanning also stated that Gamebird is currently 28’ and if you go to the other end of Barney it is 24’ so we will make long tapers back into these and when everything gets built out we will make them 38’ as we do future improvements. Commissioner Carbone asked if the contractors who are building these subdivisions are going to be making any improvements or adding to this road.

Commissioner Schinhofen

stated that there are no real subdivisions there.

Mr. Fanning

stated that this will not be in addition to that subdivision due to the fact that we have set on the south side of Gamebird and the west side of Pahrump Valley Estates so that when they do development it will actually be in addition to. You will 2 Regional Transportation Commission – Minutes August 18, 2015 have the 38’ plus whatever lane they make. Mr. Fanning stated that this is why we acquired the right-of-way from the BLM on the west side and the south side.

Commissioner Carbone

stated that he didn’t want to be building something that they should be adding to. Mr. Fanning stated that is a question that is up to the board as to what they want to do but we can build it at a minimum but to remember that there is going to be high speeds out there. Right now on the gravel road you are actually seeing 55-60 MPH and the pavement will make it inherently more. We could make it matching the existing Gamebird at 28’ if you want to that but the Barney end is only 24’ that we have chipsealed so we will have 2 merging roads.

Commissioner Carbone

asked why we didn’t chipseal Barney all the way to Gamebird when we did that end of Barney. Mr. Fanning stated that at the time we were doing the Air Quality Abatement we did not have the Pahrump Valley Estates right-of-way down Barney to Gamebird and Gamebird to Winchester so none of that made it into the equation. We stopped at Jaybird and we took that in as an Air Quality measurement. Mr. Fanning stated that this was done back in 2003-2004.

Commissioner Carbone

asked why it couldn’t be done the rest of the way.

Mr. Fanning

stated that it could but we have always talked about the high volume traffic and we did that at your request by doing ADT’s out there and they are over the top. Chipseal will not last with that high of volume at those speeds.

Commissioner Carbone

asked if Barney had those speeds also, Mr. Fanning stated that it does. Commissioner Carbone stated that his point is if the chipseal was done back in 2003 and it had all that traffic on it then what is the condition of the road now. Mr. Fanning stated that it is in absolute failure condition. The whole west side south bound lane is falling from 372 to Jaybird. It is in rebuild state right now.

Commissioner Carbone

stated that he travels that road and part of the reason may be that people are going off into the desert and then coming back onto that road. He also stated that the plan would be to do 372 to Gamebird and Gamebird over to tie in. Mr. Fanning stated yes that is the plan, it’s a little over 2-2 1/4 miles. Mr. Koenig asked that if the chipseal on Barney is already failing then are you going to come back and ask to redo Barney to match up with what’s been done. Mr. Fanning stated that we are going to actually try to do that on our maintenance cycle with cold mix. That is something that Tim Carlo and Wade Christensen have scheduled. He also stated that it is part of our normal chipseal maintenance. Mr. Koenig stated that we got a lot of years out of that chipseal and if we did the rest of it we might get another 12 years out of it. Mr. Fanning stated, possibly. Mr. Fanning stated that he would be guessing but it was about $800,000.00 from pavement to chipseal.

Commissioner Carbone

asked if we would be chipsealing the whole thing over again from Gamebird to Barney. Mr. Fanning stated that we could but we will have to do a patch on the west side lane, it’s about a ½ mile section. Commissioner Schinhofen stated that we need to keep in mind that traffic has increased since 2003 because we got the right-of-way and put the gravel on Gamebird so it could be traveled on. He also stated that this will be the southern by-pass for the valley and a bus route.

Commissioner Schinhofen

would urge us to go ahead and build it out so that it is a 25 year road and we are not back here in 5-8 years with another failed road. The 3 Regional Transportation Commission – Minutes August 18, 2015 traffic has increased and with the ADT’s that are on that road it is not going to last us even 12 years. Commissioner Schinhofen stated that we have the funds for this and he would like to see us move forward with a southern by-pass from 372 to 160.

Mr. Fanning

stated to keep in mind that the traffic is getting higher due to the fact that it’s a county road right-of-way and the purpose of this whole thing was to be a beltway and if we do decide the chipseal route it is time sensitive. The cut-off time will be the end of October, you can’t chip beyond that. You can pave beyond that date with weather prevailing. Mr. Koenig asked if this gets approved then will it take money away from Bell Vista and Homestead. Mr. Fanning stated that there has been nothing allocated on this as of yet, it is at the boards direction. Commissioner Schinhofen stated that this is why he wanted to open all there items. He also stated that there are funds this year to do this project and Homestead. There is a lot of work yet to be done on Bell Vista as far as right-of-ways, plans and engineering.

Commissioner Schinhofen

thinks that if we approve the two (Gamebird/Barney & Homestead) then what ever is left over can go the engineering of Bell Vista and next year it will be our priority.

Commissioner Schinhofen

opened all three item numbers 4, 5 & 6.

Commissioner Schinhofen

stated that this is going to be the major beltway on the south side and it is a major bus route. He also stated that it has been on the radar for about 5 years and Homestead has been on the radar for 7.

Mr. Koenig

stated that going back to the money again; after we get done with Homestead how much money does that leave us with for either Bell Vista or Gamebird/Barney. Mr. Fanning stated that as far as the SRS funding goes he would have to check since the $400,000.00 has just been allocated to item 6 in the last vote. He also stated that we have ample funds in 205 for this portion of the roadway. Mr. Koenig stated what if we wanted to do Bell Vista. Mr. Fanning stated that it is at the pleasure of the board and depends on what sections we are talking about. He also stated that he would have to look at the numbers for 160 down to Leslie or Leslie to Barney or the entire section. Commissioner Schinhofen suggested that we should approve Barney/Gamebird and approve beginning the engineering and the right-of-way on Bell Vista because we won’t know what the final number for Bell Vista will be until we get some engineered drawings and we get some right-of ways. Mr. Fanning stated that the right-of-ways may come in sections further west, as far as 160 down to basically Barney it is good. The main thing is that the existing pavement out there is 24’ wide and the PCI condition is a 14 so it’s in failure status. A 40 is failure so 14 is beyond repair. This will be a total rebuild. Commissioner Schinhofen stated that we don’t have plans for this at this time anyway. Mr. Fanning stated no we do not. Commissioner Schinhofen would like to move forward on to item 5.

Mr. Koenig

stated that we need to decide whether we are going to chipseal Barney or do the whole thing. Commissioner Schinhofen stated that it’s a major route and 4 Regional Transportation Commission – Minutes August 18, 2015 there are funds for it and it’s rare that we get funds for this so he would like to see us build it whether is 28’ or 38’. He also stated that with the traffic and the speeds that have increased over the past couple of years he would like to see it built at 38’ because that is the standard in our books. Commissioner Carbone stated that he would like to conserve as much as we can and doesn’t think we need to go out to 38’. Mr. Koenig made a motion to do Gamebird to Barney from Winchester to Jaybird at 28’. Commissioner Carbone stated that he thought we were doing from 372 all the way down. Mr. Fanning needed clarification of the item we were on.

Commissioner Schinhofen

stated that we are on item 4. Mr. Fanning stated that 28’ would meet the existing width that is there now. There will be a lane kicker shift because we have the right-of-way to the south and it will fit well within the guidelines. Commissioner Schinhofen asked if it would be from Jaybird or from 372 down. Mr. Fanning stated that since we need at least a ½ mile existing rebuild on Barney we can do that with an overlay with our existing maintenance. Mr. Fanning would like suggest that it gets paved because of the ADT’s. Commissioner Carbone asked Mr. Fanning that at 28’ from 372 to Gamebird up to Winchester with that extra ½ mile what additional funds that will require. Mr. Fanning stated about $200,000.00. Commissioner Schinhofen stated that we still fall within the 1.5 million. Mr. Koenig withdrew his last motion and made a new motion to redo Gamebird from Winchester to Barney and out to the 372 at 28’, assuming we have the funds. Commissioner Carbone second. Commissioner Schinhofen stated to take it out of 205. Motion approved 3-0

Mr. Fanning

stated that there is $160,000.00 coming out of the SRS for the Calvada Improvement Project. Mr. Fanning also stated that he wants to make sure he looks at those numbers.

Commissioner Schinhofen

suggests that we approve moving forward with engineering and bring us plans so we know what the cost is for next year. Mr. Koenig made a motion to go forward with engineering and bring it back for discussion at a later date. Commissioner Carbone asked if we were going to do that in sections or the whole road. Commissioner Schinhofen stated that it is lined out in this already. Commissioner Carbone second. Motion passed 3-0

Commissioner Schinhofen

moved back to item 4. Gamebird/Barney

Commissioner Schinhofen

asked Tim Carlo about the counts he did last week on Homestead. Mr. Carlo stated that he did the traffic counts on Homestead between Gamebird and Manse for 77 hours. There were 18,000 trips and the ADT count was 6,026 for 3 days. Mr. Koenig stated that this is why it’s on the top of his list.

Commissioner Schinhofen

stated it’s on his too. Mr. Carlo stated that was the south bound lane and north bound was a little higher at 18,320 trips and 6,168 ADT’s.

Commissioner Schinhofen

stated that this road is how people get to lakeside which is a top 10 National RV Resort so it’s important to do this road with the 2008 plans and not just overlaying it but building it out. Mr. Koenig stated that it’s a lousy road to drive on. Commissioner Schinhofen stated that Capital Improvements have allocated $200,000.00 of their money to this road and if we took $400,000.00 from the SRS fund that would be $600,000.00 to get us to the 2 million it will take to do that road. We can use 1.4 million out 205 and that will get us the funds to make this road a 25 year road. Mr. Koenig made a motion to do Homestead between Gamebird and Manse. Commissioner Schinhofen second. Further discussion; Commissioner Carbone stated that he sees some of the same numbers on Bell Vista. Commissioner Schinhofen asked Tim Carlo what the numbers were on Bell Vista. He also stated that Bell Vista is something that we need to do and we can start the process this year and make it a priority for next year because it’s going to take time to get the right-of-ways and the engineering done.

Commissioner Schinhofen

asked if Mr. Koenig’s motion was to include the $200,000.00 from Capital Improvements and $400,000.00 from SRS. Mr. Koenig stated, yes. Motion passed 3-0.

Commissioner Schinhofen

moved back to item 4.

Ms. Loraine

Murray, Chairman of the Nye Ryder Transportation Committee took the floor and stated that their mission is to provide reliable and affordable transportation to the residents of Nye County. Ms. Murray stated that she just wanted to give the board a brief update on the progress of the committee. She thanked the commission and stated that it’s time we have members that recognize the “T” in RTC, is broader than just the road department it’s the Transportation department too and it’s a health and safety solution to the community that has been being asked for over a decade. Ms. Murray stated that they have given the board a lot of information in the past and stated that it is available at any time if they would like to get together and go over it she can answer any questions they may have. The Transportation Commission has done numerous surveys, studies and assessments since 2008 up until this year and the need for transportation has been listed consistently by the youth, adults, disabled seniors and veterans. Ms. Murray stated that they had a long term plan to provide transportation throughout Nye County starting in Pahrump. They were recently awarded a grant from the Community Transportation Association. One of their representatives, Carolyn Jeski and also 6 Regional Transportation Commission – Minutes August 18, 2015 Amy Wheeler from the Nevada Transportation Organization are going to be spending a couple of days here with us. Carolyn is very impressed with the activity that is going on here and sees clearly that Nye Ryder will help create and preserve jobs and that there is a local consensus within the communities in support for this project. By September 30th the transit authority will be providing a demand estimate based on the information they have collected. They will review and analyze the data about our proposed service area and by October 31st the Technical Assistance Director, Charles Rokowski will make a site visit to Pahrump and support us in making an optimal service route, timing and other demands, again this is at no cost to our budget. Ms. Murray also gave an update regarding the 4 busses that have been committed and donated by Utah Transit Authority with no cost to our budget. They should be arriving with the next few months. She also stated that they have reviewed the program both long and short term and determined that as a start-up they need to begin with a small offering and build that up over time as we get more information on what the proper route will be. They had hoped to have a fixed deviated route but that is a higher expense so as of now she has a proposal for a 6,000 hour plan which provides demand service throughout Pahrump. It will run from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. as that budget worked out it came out at about a $5,000.00 positive. Ms. Murray stated that the concern is what it’s going to cost now and in the long run. She also stated that she has all the data and would like to go over it with them individually and answer any questions they might have. Commissioner Schinhofen had a question about when she says throughout our area on demand, does that mean anywhere in the valley or is that the area that has been identified as the first routes and is it within a ½ mile of those routes. Ms. Murray stated that there isn’t a route to speak of but yes, it’s is throughout the identified service area which pretty much cover the entire boundaries of the Pahrump valley. It is all on demand and this is not a fixed route. She also stated that someone could call and tell them what time and where they want to go and they will show up and take them to and from their destination. Ms. Murray stated that this will give us information about what the preferred routes will be in the future. Commissioner Schinhofen has another question about who will be maintaining the busses and what is that going to cost. Ms. Murray stated that the storage and maintenance of the busses is ongoing and the cost is in the new budget and its 0.00 up front from the county budget and it’s also zero risk. If we decide at the end of the year that there is no usage we can just walk away there is no investment what-so-ever or ongoing cost. Commissioner Carbone asked what the maintenance is going to cost. Ms. Murray stated that they have been negotiating with and would prefer to use Nye County; however, in discussions about storage and maintenance we have not gotten any great interest from any of the county facilities. The Nye County School District is anxious and interested in providing both storage and maintenance because they recognize that it could be a potential profit for them. The cost they provide for doing this is covered by the grant money. The grant covers 95% of what is billed. When looking at the service they would provide in both the storage and maintenance they would in fact be provided with funding and income. She also stated that she would like to go over 7 Regional Transportation Commission – Minutes August 18, 2015 all the numbers with the board at a later time. Ms. Murray stated that they haven’t settled but as of right now the most interest is with the Nye County School District. It is being discussed with the county also and it will go to whoever steps up first. Ms. Murray has a stack of documents from this year that has questions that residents have answered in regards to transportation in the valley. 82% said that they would use it and another 8% said maybe, only 7% said no. Commissioner Schinhofen stated that he would be interested in seeing the new breakdown and the budget.

Ms. Murray

stated that there will be no one asking for funding and she would be happy to go over it with him. Ms. Murray stated that for the first time in all these decades we have an opportunity to provide a transportation solution. She also stated that it is in demand and that the RTC has the opportunity to present this to the citizens here in Pahrump and make a huge difference in not only our economic development but for our youth participation in after school programs, which by the way there are funds available for ridership. Job Connect and Veterans Services also have those funds for riders. The RTC is not obligated to use any funds from their budget. Commissioner Carbone asked if there are any specific requirements within the grant that says this will last a certain period of time and is it always going to be the same level of funding or will it gradually taper off and then take it up on your own. Ms. Murray stated that historically speaking, grant funding like she is talking about is something that you would have to re-apply for as you go forward. The basis for awarding the grants and the amount of the grants improve over time as your performance of the service is established. The amount of the grant is more likely to increase given the program that we have put together. Commissioner Carbone stated that it’s depending on your ridership. Ms. Murray stated right because we are starting with a very basic limited service with the intention of expanding the service in this primary demand area and continuing to expand in other areas of the community and in Nye County. She also stated that all of that is based on our performance in implementing and administering and delivering this program. She is very confident that the funding will be there and it will be increased, not because the grant funding is growing but because of our ability to get the money. Ms. Murray stated that if we aren’t qualified to get the grant or we don’t get the grant then the service just goes away and there is no risk. Mr. Koenig stated that as the liaison for the Nye Ryder Committee he just wanted the board to be brought up to date and know what is going on so that they are more comfortable with it and give them the opportunity to go one-on-one with Ms. Murray or Mr. Bass. Commissioner Schinhofen asked to have the budget sent to him. He also stated that he thinks we are too small to support a bus service and most municipalities end up putting money in. Ms. Murray stated that the ridership will not pay for it and it is not in this budget. The budget is not dependant on fares. Commissioner Schinhofen stated that the money has to come from somewhere and that’s what he is concerned with, also it is something that the Town of Pahrump should take a look at if there are funds. Ms. Murray stated that there are no funds. Commissioner Schinhofen stated that the busses that are coming in may need repair and have to be maintained and that money comes from somewhere. He also stated that he is anxious to see how many 8 Regional Transportation Commission – Minutes August 18, 2015 people will be using this service. Commissioner Schinhofen stated that asking if someone would pay for bus service is a good thing to put on a ballot. Ms. Murray stated that she would get the budget to Commissioner Schinhofen at his request and will follow-up with him when he has time to go over all of it.

Mr. Darrel

Lacy, Planning Director stated that earlier on today Commissioner Schinhofen mentioned something about planning for the future and he would like to encourage this group to set up a sub-committee with the Planning Commission to come back with road needs. Some of things he’s thinking about are now that NDOT has announced the expansion to 4 lanes at the road from the south end of town, our current plans show a few interconnections with that on both the southern and eastern beltway intersection and we have a need for an entrance into the fairgrounds. We need to get our plans finalized and communicated to NDOT.

Commissioner Schinhofen

stated that we need coordination between the Capital Improvements, Planning and RTC so that we can identify and work on the same projects. He also stated that with NDOT building out HWY 160 we need to indentify Wheeler Pass and an entrance into the fairgrounds and any connections that we need to make. Mr. Fanning stated that the 4 lanes that he is aware of are the ones starting at Calvada and going just past Rainbow on HWY 160 and there is no further continuation that he is aware of at this time unless there is something new that he has not seen. Commissioner Schinhofen stated that a couple years after that they will be doing the next section. Mr. Fanning asked if this was their 5 year plan.

Commissioner Schinhofen

stated yes. Mr. Fanning asked if they were looking for the entrance approach to the original fairgrounds that was submitted off of Wheeler Pass. Commissioner Schinhofen stated yes. He also stated there would be a new POD out soon.

Commissioner Carbone

made a motion to have the next meeting on September 15th at 8:30 a.m. Mr. Koenig second. Motion approved. Passed 3-0

Commissioner Schinhofen

went back to Commissioner/Manger Comments