Council Discussion.  Staff seeks input and direction on the following

• Number of transportation-related ballot questions
• Guidance on overall or combined transportation tax-rate
• Guidance on the public outreach process leading up to the decision on the ballot language
• Technical information such as project details, tax rates, and financing to support the Council decision on ballot language

On July 5th, 2017, City Council adopted Ordinance 2017-25 establishing the Citizens' Transportation Tax Commission. The Council foresees the June 2020 expiration of the current transportation sales taxes and the need for funding to continuously improve the City's transportation network.  Council established the Commission to "provide alternatives and recommendations" to address these needs. Council decisions regarding final ballot language should conclude at the end of June 2018.

The 15-member Commission concluded its work on March 5 and submits their recommendation to Council through the attached resolution, alternative packages of projects, and supporting maps.  Commission Chairman, Nick Kraft, will present these to Council.

 The Commission members appointed by Council, including the Transportation Commission representative, are:

    Andreani, Lucinda                               Lopez, Rick
    Caldwell, Christina                              Lowe, Gail
    Davis, Robert                                      Remington, Meghan
    DeBartolomeo, Ginny                         Spinti, Mark
    Fernandez, Heather                           Tewksbury-Bloom, Sharon
    Keene, Joanne                                   Welch, Jack
    Kraft, Nick                                           Wellumson, Abigail
    Leid, Julie

The Commission met eight times starting in September 2017. 
Meeting 1: Kick-off, introductions, rules of order
Meeting 2: Existing conditions and need including presentations by staff experts on each mode.
Meeting 3: Future conditions including population and employment conditions and the Flagstaff Metropolitan Planning Organization's Regional Transportation Plan (RTP).
Meeting 4: Regional Plan policy overview, economic development priorities, trade-off implications and decision-making and presentations on future needs and priorities by staff experts in each mode. Polling on top 5 projects from each Commissioner.
Meeting 5: Funding and financing. Rough priorities.
Meeting 6: Initial prioritization.
Meeting 7: Secondary prioritization and resolution framework.
Meeting 8: Final prioritization and final framework.

Attendance was strong for all meetings and the Commissioners highly engaged.  All meetings were advertised in the Daily Sun, in the Cityscape, and pushed on Facebook and Twitter. Time for public comment was provided at every meeting and several comments were received at one meeting.  The comments from the Flagstaff Climate Action Council and the Flagstaff Sustainability Commission focused on air quality and climate, the benefits of non-motorized travel and mass transit, and the futility of building more road capacity. 

Alan Maguire of the Maguire Company facilitated the meetings, David Wessel from the Flagstaff Metropolitan Planning Organization (FMPO) organized content, and Caleb Blaschke from the City Manager's office served as recording secretary.  The Commission received a 2-page description of each of the top 30 projects from the RTP including a map of its location and cost estimates for those projects.  The Commission was provided links to several documents like the RTP and were given copies of nearly every presentation.  The effort was supported by City staff from Community Development, Public Works, and Management Services, the FMPO, and NAIPTA all of whom were called on frequently to address Commission questions and concerns.  Thanks to Jason Cook from the City Manager's Office for managing agendas, Commission binders, and other logistics.