ITEM 0803-12: Endorsing the
Committee Ranking of Applications for the Round 9
Job Access /Reverse Commute (JARC) Competitive Grant Program
The SJTPO JARC Ranking Committee
recommended that the Policy Board endorse the JARC Committee Ranking of
Applications for the FY 2007 (Round 9) Job Access/Reverse Commute (JARC)
Competitive Grant Program.
The Federal Transit
Administration (FTA) initiative entitled the Job Access and Reverse Commute
Competitive Grant (JARC) Program is intended to help fund transportation
services and supportive activities that 1) facilitate access to jobs for persons
of low income and those on welfare, and 2) provide reverse commute trips for the
general population. A reverse commute project provides transportation for urban,
suburban and rural area residents to suburban employment opportunities. This
year, as in previous years, funding has been made available to the States for
programs that support the JARC initiative (e.g., Cumberland County has received
this grant in past years to fund their CATS transit service).
JARC grant applications are submitted to the State’s MPO’s, and NJ
Transit requires that the MPO’s rank or prioritize all applications submitted
to (i.e., that affect) their region. NJ Transit will use the MPO recommendations
as a guide in the process of awarding JARC funds, although other factors, such
as project or project element eligibility and funding constraints (which is a
major issue for this round of JARC funding) will be taken into consideration in
making the final decision.
At the request of NJ Transit,
SJTPO received letters of intent (LOI’s) from potential applicants in February
2008. Applicants were told to assume and base their project budget on a 12 month
service period that extends from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010, and to provide,
in their budget, at least a 50 % local match for the full cost of the proposed
project. Applicants were cautioned that, for Round 9, JARC funding had been
drastically reduced for areas outside of the Atlantic County Urban Area, and
that the full funding amount that they would be requesting in their applications
could not be guaranteed. In
response, five LOI’s were received from local non-profit agencies, i.e.,
·
Cumberland County
Improvement Authority (CCIA) – is proposing to continue its
ongoing CATS demand responsive system for work and job training trips. The CCIA
is requesting funding for operating expenses for its CATS system at total cost
of $ 295,320 ($ 147,660 requested).
·
Atlantic County
Department of Human Services – is requesting funds to continue its
County-wide JARC subscription para-transit service begun in January 2005. The
application is for operating expenses for this service at a cost of
$ 128,370 ($ 64,185 requested).
·
Pearl Transit
– (Salem County) – is proposing to continue its demand-responsive service
that provides transportation to low income and welfare dependent people in Salem
and Cumberland County (access provided to Gloucester County) The application is
for operating expenses for this service at a cost of
$ 205,702 ($ 102,851 requested).
·
Salem County Interagency
Council (IAC) of Human Services - is proposing a continuation of
its service for Salem County residents to Pureland Industrial Park (Gloucester
County) and other areas within Salem County. The application is for operating
expenses for this service at a cost of $ 72,000 ($ 36,000 is requested).
·
South Jersey
Transportation Authority (new application) - is proposing a
shuttle linking the Pleasantville Bus Terminal with the Atlantic City Marina
area. The application is for operating expenses for this service at a cost of $
262,800 ($ 131,400 is requested).
An SJTPO JARC Ranking Committee
was formed, consisting of representatives from NJ Transit, NJ Department of
Human Services, Atlantic County Planning Department, Cumberland County Planning
Department, SJTA, and SJTPO. The LOI’s received by SJTPO for this round of
JARC funding, along with LOI scoring criteria, were forwarded to the Committee
members. Projects were scored and returned to SJTPO.
Based on a summary of the
Committee’s ranking of the five projects, the projects were ranked as follows
(with 1 being the highest rank):
Rank
Applicant/Project
1. Cumberland County Improvement Authority
2. Salem County Interagency Council
3. Pearl Transit
4.
5.
SJTA –
Marina Shuttle
It should be noted that Atlantic
County DHS and SJTA were the only two applicants that are applying (and
competing) for funding under the JARC Large Urban Area program, although
Atlantic County DHS is also applying for some funding under the JARC Small Urban
and Rural programs to fund the that portion of its transit system that is
operating in the county’s rural area. All other applicants are applying for
the JARC Small Urban and Rural programs. Therefore, the ranking of projects
applying for the Large Urban Area funding Program is as follows:
Rank
Applicant/Project
1. Atlantic County Dept. of Human Services
2.
SJTA –
Marina Shuttle (new application)
The ranking of projects applying
for the JARC Small Urban Area and Rural Area funding programs is as follows:
Rank
Applicant/Project
1. Cumberland County Improvement Authority
2. Salem County Interagency Council
3. Pearl Transit
4.
In
the project selection process, NJ Transit will be giving priority to currently
funded JARC projects over new JARC applications, and has advised MPO’s to
include this as a major consideration in their ranking process. If this
criterion were applied, the SJTA application, which (along with the Atlantic
County DHS application) falls under the Large Urban Area funding program, would
rank second to the Atlantic County DHS application (as is does in the general
ranking).
NJ
Transit is also requiring that the SJTA Marina Shuttle project be included in a
revised or amended Atlantic County Human Service Transportation Plan as a
condition for JARC funding approval. All other projects/applications listed
above are currently included in the Atlantic County Plan and so are eligible for
JARC funding.
RESOLUTION 0803-12:
Endorsing the Ranking of Applications for the Round 9
Job Access /Reverse Commute (JARC) Competitive Grant Program
WHEREAS, the South Jersey Transportation Planning Organization (SJTPO) is
the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) designated under Federal Law for
the southern region of New Jersey including Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland and
Salem Counties; and
WHEREAS, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has made available,
through the Job Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) Competitive Grant Program,
funding on a competitive basis for transportation services to support
initiatives to increase access to employment opportunities for citizens; and
WHEREAS, the SJTPO is the organization responsible for prioritizing
proposed JARC projects in the SJTPO four-county region for submittal to NJ
Transit, who then further prioritizes the applications for submittal to FTA for
final funding approval; and
WHEREAS, the SJTPO has received proposals
for funding under the Round 9 JARC program from the Cumberland County
Improvement Authority, Salem County Interagency Council of Human Services, Pearl
Transit in Salem County, Atlantic
County Department of Human Services (DHS) , and the South Jersey Transportation
Authority (SJTA); and
WHEREAS, the five applications have been reviewed and ranked by an
SJTPO-appointed JARC application ranking committee, consisting of
representatives from NJ Transit, SJTPO, Atlantic County Planning Department,
Cumberland County Planning Department, SJTA, and the New Jersey Department of
Human Services; and
WHEREAS, based on a summary of the Committee’s ranking of the
applications, the four applicants that are applying for funding under the JARC
Small Urban and Rural funding programs have been ranked (with “1” as the
highest rank”) as follows:
WHEREAS, based on a summary of the Committee’s ranking of the
applications, the two applicants that are applying for funding under the JARC
Large Urban funding program have been ranked (with “1” as the highest
rank”) as follows:
WHEREAS, this prioritization of the five JARC applications is recommended
for Policy Board endorsement based on a summary of scores submitted by the SJTPO
JARC Ranking Committee.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Policy Board of the South Jersey
Transportation Planning Organization hereby endorses the recommended ranking and
prioritization of the five JARC applications submitted to SJTPO and approves
their submission to
Certification
I hereby certify that the foregoing is a correct and true copy of a
resolution adopted by the Policy Board of the South Jersey Transportation
Planning Organization at its meeting of March 17, 2008.
____________________________________
Charles R. Sullivan, Secretary/Treasurer