Staff recommends the Planning Board review the Draft 2024 UPWP and hold a Public Hearing at this meeting. 

The City-County Planning Division is presenting the 2024 Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) for the Billings Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for Planning Board review and eventual recommendation to the Billings Policy Coordinating Committee (PCC). At this meeting, the Board is scheduled to review the document and make any comments that they may have. The Board is also scheduled to conduct a public hearing and take comment on the UPWP at this meeting.

The UPWP is primarily for the purpose of programming the federal dollars that Billings receives from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for transportation planning and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for transit (MET) planning. These funds are passed through the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT). All transportation planning activities are included in the UPWP so that it represents a comprehensive document for the urban transportation planning program. This UPWP proposes planning activities for Federal Fiscal Year 2024, which runs from October 1, 2023, through September 30, 2024. This UPWP corresponds directly with the Planning Division's annual work plan. The significant changes in this year's program include completion of the 2024 Bike and Pedestrian Plan, the Feasibility Study for the 21st Street Underpass, and transportation specific analysis and updates to two neighborhood plans. The Transit section is Chapter II of the UPWP. The document is consistent with past programs in its content and format.

The Planning Board is required to hold a public hearing prior to its recommendation to PCC. The public hearing will be held at this meeting of the Board. The Planning Board will take action on the item at its August 8th meeting and forward a recommendation to PCC. 

Planning Board may, at its August 8th meeting:

• Recommend approval of the 2024 UPWP to the PCC and directs its designee Board President Dennis Cook to take that recommendation to the PCC; or,
• Recommend amendments to the 2024 UPWP to the PCC and direct its designee Board President Dennis Cook to take that recommendation to the PCC; or,
• Not recommend approval of 2024 UPWP to the PCC and direct its designee Board President Dennis Cook to take that recommendation to the PCC. If the UPWP is not approved, there would be a significant loss of resources for community planning and the community's ability to manage transportation planning projects and programs would be severely limited.

Approval of the 2024 UPWP allows the City to access Federal funds for transportation planning in the community. Federal and local funds are combined to provide most of the planning work done by the Planning Division for the City and the County. If the UPWP is not approved, there would be a significant loss of resources for community planning and the community's ability to manage transportation planning projects and programs would be severely limited. The breakdown of funding sources for the FY 2024 UPWP is estimated below:

• $260,000 Planning Dept. Fee Revenue (City of Billings)
• $170,000 Planning Dept. Fee Revenue (Yellowstone County)
• $595,000 Yellowstone County Planning Levy
• $1,447,790 Federal Planning (PL) Allocation        
• $2,472,790 Total Local and Federal Program Funding (UPWP)