►
Description
Metropolitan Planning Organization Policy Committee Meeting, 09/20/2023
A
Good
afternoon,
everyone
welcome
to
today
today's
meeting
for
the
mpo
policy
committee
committee
meeting
today's
date
is
September
20th,
2023,
1
30
p.m.
We
are
at
Joe
aguera
Laredo,
Public,
Library
multi-purpose,
room,
1120,
East,
Colton
Road
and
we're
on
Spectrum
TV
channel
1300..
Let's
go
ahead
and
call
the
meeting
to
order
we're
going
to
have
our
chairperson,
Mr
Juan
mandiba
at
call
roll
call.
Please
we're.
C
A
Very
well,
if
I
can
have
a
motion
to
Excuse
excuse.
Those
remember
nothing.
Second
motion.
Second,
to
excuse
everyone,
that's
absent
Motion
Set
can
any
opposed
motion
carries
and
just
for
the
record,
once
again,
there
is
a
quorum
with
four
all
right:
let's
go
ahead
and
go
into
citizens
Commons,
which
we
don't
have
anybody
at
this
time
and
unless
somebody
likes
to
come
up
I'll
give
that
Freedom.
Okay,
we're
good!
A
Let's
go
ahead
in
item
four
items
requiring
policy,
Committee
Action
item
a
for
a
approval
of
minutes
and
meetings
are
held,
August,
16,
2023,
so
I
have
a
motion
on
the
table
motion
seconds.
Any
opposed
motion
carries
item
4B,
discussing
with
possible
action
to
provide
a
letter
in
support
of
the
city
of
laredo's
Grants
application
for
the
U.S
us
dot,
reconnecting
communities
and
neighborhoods
RCN
program
for
the
boulevard
of
the
Americas
project.
B
Yes
chair.
Thank
you.
The
City
of
Laredo
is
applying
for
through
their
Economic
Development
Department,
for
this
grant
to
make
some
sidewalk
improvements.
Crosswalk
improvements
on
the
four
blocks
in
front
of
international
bridge
number
two
you're
asking
for
a
letter
of
support
for
from
the
mpo.
The
draft
letter
is
in
your
packet.
A
A
A
Is
this
the
one
that
we
needed
a
table?
Yes,.
B
A
B
Sure
so
we
had
just
invited
law
enforcement
here,
because
I
know
we're
going
to
have
a
discussion
on
the
safety
concerns
right
and
what
the
mpo,
maybe
what
role
we
can
play
and
helping
you
know
enhancing
the
safety
over
Transportation
Network.
So
we
invited
law
enforcement
to
be
here
in
case
there's
any
questions,
so
we
didn't
ask
them
to
prepare
anything.
But
we
have
this
discussion
again
in
in
October
when
everybody's
here,
including
our
text,
Dot
District
engineer
and
commissioner
Gonzalez,
who
had
also
requested
this
item.
E
Well,
good
afternoon,
Mike
Rodriguez
from
the
record
chief
of
police
for
the
City
of
Laredo.
At
this
point,
what
we
were
told
is
that
it
was
a
system
that
went
down
and
that
it
was
a
system
that
was
down
across
the
border
of
Mexico.
It
was
not
only
our
bridges
that
were
affected
by.
E
Side,
our
side
was
fully
functional.
It's
just
the
problem
that
when
it
went
down
he
was
down
for
many
hours,
so
that
put
us
in
a
very
bad
situation,
because
there
was
no
movement
of
traffic,
so
we
were
actually
trying
to
remove
the
the
the
the
individuals
that
were
trying
to
get
to
their
homes,
which
was
very
hard
because
it
was
hard
to
identify
them.
But
we
were
trying
to
do
our
best
in
doing
that,
so
we
were
trying
to
get
reinforcements
to
to
that
area.
D
A
No,
if
I,
if
I
may
add
to
what
the
chief
is
saying
to
commissioner
so
I
was
just
talking
to
some
Logistics
people
and
what
they're
saying
is
that
it's
very
it
happens
quite
often
when
there's
a
Mexican
holiday.
A
So
nobody
works
so
all
of
a
sudden,
Here,
Comes,
Monday
and
now
they're
bombarding
the
system
and
that's
when
it
crashes
and
that's
what
they
told
me
that
that's
starting
to
happen
more
more
often
than
not
is
when
it's
a
Mexican
holiday.
Just
watch
that,
following
you
know,
when
they
start
getting
to
work
again,
that
that
system
crashes
and
that's
what
I'm
being
told
and.
E
D
F
You,
sir,
yes
just
just
to
comment
on
on
this,
particularly
we
spoke
about
this
during
the
council
meeting
on
Monday
and
chief,
you
and
I
have
spoken
about
it
during
the
public
safety
meetings
that
we
have
this
initiative,
that
we've
asked
for
help
through
text
Dot
or
through
DPS
and
I,
see
a
DPS
Trooper
is
here.
If
they
could,
please
help
us
to
understand.
F
What's
taking
so
long,
it's
been
over
a
month
five
weeks
now
that
we've
asked
major
for
help
over
on
the
loop
specifically
to
Target
Speeders,
specifically
for
accidents,
Luke
20,
Highway
83,
those
areas
that
we've
had
these
fatalities
in
and
just
if
they
could
just
give
us
a
heads
up.
What's
going
on
or
information
on
when
they'd
be
able
to
assist
us
specifically
in
those
areas,
that's.
E
E
We
are
down
to
10
now
or
actually
11
or
one
is
one,
is
leaving
so
we're
down
to
10,
so
we're
adding
more
Personnel
to
that
division
to
be
able
to
concentrate
on
those
what
we
call
Hot
zones:
cuatrovientos,
Luke,
20,
35,
83,
all
those
areas
that
we
see
with
our
our
data,
that
is
blinking
red,
that's
what
we're
going
to
be
deploying
them.
At
the
same
time,
I
had
conversations
already
with
the
captain
Victors
Hotel,
who
is
in
charge
of
this
area,
Region
3
of
the
DPS
at
the
highway
patrol.
E
E
We
don't
want
to
be
sneaky
about
it,
but
we're
going
to
make
sure
that
we
are
doing
it
intelligently,
not
just
going
out
there
and
you
know
giving
out
tickets
in
areas
that
we
know
that
it's
not
a
problem,
but
we
do
want
to
have
a
plan
of
action.
That's
going
to
be
upwards
of
six
months
so
that
we
know
when
we're
going
to
be
doing
their
operation
together.
It's
not
only
DPS
but
they're
ready
to
deploy
their
assets.
E
Dps
is
going
to
be
fully
engaged
in
trying
to
make
sure
that
we
decrease
those
numbers
in
in
fatalities
and
traffic
accidents
and
stuff,
and
also
the
numbers
of
speeding
tickets
that
we're
giving
out
there.
You
know
we,
we
see
our
statistics
and
we
we
haven't
decreased
that
number.
So
what
is
that
telling
us
that
the
public
is
not
really
listening
to
us
or
the
enforcement
part
is
not
working,
so
we
need
to
continue
doing
it
because
again
we
focus
in
one
area
and
then
the
next
week
we
focus
in
another
area.
F
Right
and
it's
the
education,
not
just
the
enforcement
side,
that
we
need
to
get
out
to
the
public,
because
I
think
that's
what
we're
lacking.
Yes,
the
the
education
part
of
it.
So
we
can
just
Implement
that
as
well,
and
if
you
can
the
next
public
safety
meeting
that
we
have
with
the
city,
if
you
could
please
bring
in
DPS
as
well.
So
we
can
discuss
these
plans
about
having
certain
zones
in
the
City
of
Laredo
and
certain
fines
actually
being
higher
than
what
they
are.
Yes,.
E
Definitely,
and
and
about
the
the
public
education
I
did
speak
to
some
of
the
traffic
officers,
which
sometimes
they
bring
up
the
the
best
ideas
on
how
to
approach
the
public
and
they
came
up
with
a
taco
with
a
traffic
officer
and
that
they
want
to
go
down
to
the
same
thing
with
do
with
coffee
with
a
cop.
Do
it
with
a
traffic
officer
to
engage
the
public
and
so
cops
aren't
eating
Donuts
anymore.
No.
F
F
E
A
I
appreciate
it
before
you
before
you
step
out.
I
just
would
like
to
say
on
behalf
of
the
mpo
and
myself.
Congratulations
on
your
new
position.
Well
deserved!
We're
really
proud
of
you
and
I
know
you're
going
to
take
you're
going
to
take
the
PD
to
a
whole
different
level,
we're
very
grateful
and
we're
appreciative
and
keep
up
the
good
work.
Thank.
A
Just
for
the
record,
if
we
could
put
that
the
mayor
nicknamese
presented
now
I'm
sure,
how
are
you
good,
you're
good,
we're
just
a
journey
right
now,
so
you're
perfect
right.
F
A
All
right,
let's
get
going
item
4D
discussing
with
possible
action
on
the
achar
Ruth,
inter
Road
Project.
G
And
Nas
Anna
done
kind
of
project
manager
to
provide
a
quick
update
on
the
project.
H
Anna
Duncan
with
tech
stock
for
the
record,
to
give
you
all
an
update,
we
are
on
schedule
with
our
plans.
We
should
be
getting
our
90
PSA
here
in
the
coming
month.
H
I
don't
have
the
update
from
today,
but
today
is
actually
the
closing
day
of
the
environmental
public
Outreach
that
we
did.
It
expires
today.
So
hopefully,
within
this
next
week,
we'll
have
the
the
Fonzie
issued
out
to
us
and
then
we'll
be
able
to
begin
with
the
right-of-way
offers.
The
city
has
a
few
that
still
need
to
be
submitted
to
text
up
for
the
final
review,
so
we're
working
with
them
on
that
utilities.
H
We've
been
having
regular
meetings
now,
every
two
weeks
at
our
office
representative
Raymond,
was
able
to
attend
those
and
he's
very
interested
in
this
project
and
is
helping
us
to
to
assure
that
we
we
move
forward
with
it.
We
are
in
serious
Communications
with
AEP
on
those
Transmissions
lines.
So
so
we
do
have
a
Target
date
of
having
everything
completed,
possibly
and
most
definitely
going
to
have
a
management
plan
for
those,
and
we
should
still
be
on
target
for
our
May
2024
wedding.
A
H
Don't
work
for
AP,
sir,
no,
those
take
the
longest
when
we
do
transmit
when
we
do
adjustments.
So
we
know
that
that'll
Target,
probably
about
a
year
and
a
half
to
two
years,
to
move
those
but
we're
able
to
phase
those
into
our
schedule.
So
it
shouldn't
have
an
impact
on
construction.
I
I
Good
afternoon
Mr
chairman
membership,
commissioner
Ramon
Chavez
city
engineer.
As
far
as
the
property
acquisition
is
concerned,
all
the
appraisals
were
completed.
Some
of
them
have
to
be
amended
because
we
are
working
or
we
have
to
include
any
existing
utilities.
The
property
needs
to
be
compensated,
so
several
of
those
will
were
going
to
be
amended
and
those
will
be
sent
as
soon
as
the
environmental
clearance
is
complete.
I
I
And
again,
we've
been
working
coordinating
again,
we
met
last
Friday
we're
going
to
meet
the
following
Friday
with
tech
stock
to
go
over
everything,
including
the
utility
coordination
with
the
city.
Laredo
is
responsible
for
and
the
acquisition.
I
I
think
at
this
time
we
are
like
it
was
mentioned
right
now
by
Ms
Duncan.
We
are
on
schedule
to
meet
the
leading
date.
In
my
opinion,
if
we
get
to
a
certain
point
where
we
definitely
feel
that
hey,
we
need
something
else.
I
think
we
would
come
to
you
and
ask
you
for
that,
support
or
whatever
it
may
be
to
push.
But
we
we've
been
in
constant
communication.
G
D
No
I
understand
that
part
I'm
just
saying
the
city
is
acting
like
a
third
party
they're
getting
they're
going
to
receive
the
majority
of
it.
Hopefully
donations
right
and
then
before
they
turn
it
over
to
you.
Then
they
have
to
comply
with
the
body
part,
but
I
thought
by
now.
They
would
have
it
all
in
hand
ready
to
turn
over
and
I'm
just
I'm
just
asking.
G
Because
I
don't
know
we
kind
of
went
through
that.
You
know
I
had
a
couple
of
minutes
about
that
discussion.
The
problem
is
that
that
we
did
the
designation
to
as
on
system
Road
a
few
months
back
so
when
that
became
a
non-system.
That's
when
everything
you
have
to
follow
at
that
time
of
the
federal
procedures.
A
J
Thank
you
chairman
for
the
record
Melissa
montemayor
with
the
Webb
County
Civil
Laredo
RMA.
You
have
the
status
report
in
your
packet.
The
first
six
projects
are
are
complete,
I
could
answer
any
questions
on
those
I
I
will
just
reiterate
chairman
that
the
River
Road
I'm,
sorry,
that
the
Webb
County
Fairgrounds
Tia
is
complete
and
we
stand
ready
at
the
County's
request
to
present
to
the
county.
If
you
would
like
that
Tia
presented
at.
A
J
Item
number:
seven,
the
safe
streets
and
roads
for
all,
as
as
we've
mentioned
before,
the
RMA,
in
conjunction
with
the
mpo
and
the
City
of
Laredo,
received
a
two
million
dollar
Federal
grant
to
prepare
a
safety
action
plan
that
has
already
kicked
off.
J
We
anticipate
that
we'll
be
done
in
about
18
months,
close
to
the
end
of
that
18
months.
We
will
be
ready
to
apply
for
implementation
funds
from
Federal
Highway
Administration.
So
we're
very
excited
about
this.
We'll
be
part
of
the
steps
that
we'll
be
taking
as
part
of
this
Safety
Action
Plan
is
coming
to
you
as
a
community
to
to
identify
some
of
the
hot
spots.
J
Then
we'll
develop
Solutions
we'll
also
develop
a
plan
to
reduce
accidents
and
fatalities
by
a
certain
percentage
by
a
certain
amount
of
time
again,
it'll
be
a
local
commitment
that
will
enter
and
in
all
together
in
terms
of
Isco
road.
That
has
also
been
kicked
off
so
right
now
we're
in
the
process
of
collecting
field
survey,
data
and
utility
data,
and
we
will
be
ready
to
let
that
in
the
fall
of
2025.
J
Concord
Hills
right
now
we're
just
waiting
on
the
Ila
to
be
executed
between
the
RMA
and
City
of
Laredo,
and
then
the
the
RMA
has
committed
a
million
dollars
to
the
seal
array
for
that
project,
and
so
looking
for
that
project
to
get
kicked
off.
Springfield
phase,
one
two
and
four
very
similar
to
Concord
Hills.
The
RMA
has
committed
a
million
dollars
to
the
Silverado
for
that
project
and
again
just
pending
the
execution
of
the
Ila
and
then
finally,
we
hosted
two
trz
workshops.
J
The
last
one
was
held
just
this
past
month
or
two
months
ago
in
in
August.
Next
steps
would
be
for
the
seal
Laredo
to
take
to
implementation,
the
trz
for
cuatro
Vientos
and
then
to
come
to
make
a
decision
to
commence
on
the
North
Laredo
trz
study.
Our
next
RMA
meeting
should
be
scheduled
for
October
and
exact
date
will
be
announced
very
soon.
I
can
answer
any
questions.
Questions.
A
A
You
ma'am.
Thank
you
very
good.
Next,
we
have
item
six
is
director's
comments,
Mr
one
minute
because.
B
Thank
you
judge
again
also
wanted
to
thank
law
enforcement
for
being
here
today,
Virgo
PD
and
the
sheriff's
office.
So
we
appreciate
that
we'll
go
ahead
and
bring
this
item
in
October
to
have
more
full
discussion
on
that
and
show
some
data
that
we
have
from
a
safety
report.
So
we'll
do
that
in
October,
related
kind
of
related
to
that
the
active
Transportation
committee
met
in
person
on
August
30th
and
we
had
a
back
to
school
safety
discussion
at
that
meeting.
B
It
was
in
person,
we've
been
doing
that
for
the
last
few
years
and
we're
hoping
to
continuous
conversations.
So
the
chairman
of
the
active
Transportation
committee
is
our
planner
mpo
planner,
Julio
Nino.
He
did
a
great
job
at
that
meeting,
so
they
want
to.
You
know,
congratulate
them
on
that
and
we're
also
working
with
the
technical
committee
develop
a
training
program.
Now
we
have
some
new
members
here
that
have
been
here
with
us
for
about
six
months
now,
but
there's
also,
you
know.
B
Sometimes
we
get
new
technical
committee
members
as
well
new
staff,
so
we
want
to
make
sure
we
create
a
training
program
that
benefits
all
our
mpo
policy.
Technical
committee
members
and
staff.
So
we'll
be
developing
that
through
a
series
of
workshops,
so
we'll
have
more
updates
as
they
become
available.
Our
next
meetings,
the
active
Transportation
committee
meeting,
will
meet
virtually
on
September
27th.
B
A
Do
have
a
question
being
that
we're
going
towards
the
end
of
the
year
we're
already
in
what
are
we
September
right.
A
It's
once
a
month
just
remind
me
of
December.
We
don't
have
a
meeting
doing
so.
B
The
way
the
bylaw
said
they
don't
specify
the
bylaws,
don't
specify
meeting
by
laws
actually
say
that
we
need
to
meet
at
least
twice
a
year,
but
we
wouldn't
be
able
to
come.
Do
everything
we
need
to
do
in
those
two
meetings.
What
we've
done
in
the
past
years,
we've
actually
canceled
the
December
meeting.
So
that
way
we
have
it
pretty.
A
F
A
Opposed
oh
I'm,
going
to
discussion.
I.
Just
really
would
like
to
congratulate
and
thank
the
City
of
Laredo
I
know
you
are
what
are
y'all
call
today
the
apartment
you're
right,
your
it
Department.
Thank
you
all
very
much
for
this.
You
all
did
a
great
job.
I
know
you
all
did
this
for
Monday's
meeting
for
for
city
council,
but
for
I
walked
in
here
feeling
very
special.