Title
Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to Apply for $2,400,000 in Surface Transportation Block Grant - Direct Attributable Funds from the Wilmington Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization with a Required Local Match of $600,000 for the South 17th Street Multi-Use Path Project
Body
LEGISLATIVE INTENT/PURPOSE:
WHEREAS, on July 5, 2024, the Wilmington Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (“WMPO”) issued a call for projects to agencies in its jurisdiction for federal Surface Transportation Block Grant - Direct Attributable (“STBG-DA”), Transportation Alternatives - Direct Attributable, or Carbon Reduction Efforts funding, with a total of $5,087,594 available to award and a minimum of 20% in local matching funds required; and,
WHEREAS, the WMPO’s STBG-DA program provides funding for various types of locally administered projects, including bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure; and,
WHEREAS, the South 17th Street Multi-Use Path project was submitted by the WMPO for Prioritization 2.0 in 2011, and it included a multi-use path along South 17th Street from Hospital Plaza Drive to Independence Boulevard and was the highest scoring bicycle project in the State; and,
WHEREAS, the South 17th Street Multi-Use Path project was funded in the State Transportation Improvement Program (“STIP”) in Prioritization 2.0 and was first included in the 2013-2023 State/Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Programs; and,
WHEREAS, the 2013-2023 STIP was adopted by the North Carolina Board of Transportation in September 2012; and,
WHEREAS, the South 17th Street Multi-Use Path project will provide a 10-foot-wide multi-use path on the west side of South 17th Street from Harbour Drive to US 117/Shipyard Boulevard, as well as crosswalks and pedestrian signals at the intersection of South 17th Street and US 117/Shipyard Boulevard; and,
WHEREAS, this project is programmed in the 2024-2033 STIP and has federal funding through the North Carolina Department of Transportation (“NCDOT”) via the Transportation Alternatives Program, which requires a twenty percent (20%) local grant match; and,
WHEREAS, this application will request $2,400,000 in STBG-DA funding from the WMPO, and require a 20% local grant match of $600,000 from the City, for a total of $3,000,000, and with the increase in project funding intended to cover anticipated construction and related costs; and,
WHEREAS, funding for the local grant match would be covered by a $100,000 contribution from the City’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Improvements Committee and $500,000 from interest earnings on capital balances.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED:
THAT, the City Manager is hereby authorized to apply for $2,400,000 in STBG-DA funding from the WMPO for construction of the South 17th Street Multi-Use Path project.
THAT, funding for the required $600,000 local grant match from the City has been identified and will be appropriated if the grant is awarded.