Title
Letter to NCDOT Secretary Trogdon regarding Prioritization of Removal of Projects from the Suspension List (10 minutes)
Aaron Cain, LPA Staff
Narrative
At its January 22, 2020 meeting, the DCHC MPO TC instructed MPO staff to draft a letter for the Board Chair's signature regarding the prioritization of removal of projects from NCDOT's list of projects suspended from funding. In fall 2019, NCDOT notified MPOs and RPOs that, due to cash flow issues, most projects were suspended from further action. Recently, NCDOT has begun to remove projects from that suspension list. However, there has been no explanation as to how or why projects are chosen to be removed from that list. Furthermore, locally managed projects, for which local governments pay the costs and are then reimbursed by NCDOT, have also been suspended, with no date given for reinstatement of reimbursements. The DCHC MPO TC recommends that the MPO Board formally request an explanation on the methodology of removing projects from the suspension list, and to also state formally that reinstatement of reimbursements to local governments for locally managed projects should be the top priority.
A draft letter to this effect is attached for the Board's review.
Recommendation
TC Action: Request a letter be sent from the MPO Board to Secretary Trogdon regarding prioritization of projects to be removed from the suspension list.
Board Action
Board Action: Authorize the Board Chair to sign the letter to Secretary Trogdon.