Broward County Commission Regular Meeting
Director's Name: Trevor M. A. Fisher
Department: Public Works Division: Traffic Engineering
Information
Requested Action
title
A. MOTION TO APPROVE Grant Participation and Reimbursement Agreement between Broward County and Brightline Trains Florida LLC, subrecipient of Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) grant funds pursuant to a Subrecipient Agreement with the Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization (BMPO), for the construction of certain safety improvements along the Florida East Coast Railway (FECR) corridor under the FRA’s Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant Program, in a maximum amount from the County not to exceed $2,365,000; and authorizing the Mayor and Clerk to execute same. (Commission Districts 2, 4, 6 and 8)
ACTION: (T-11:03 AM) Approved.
VOTE: 8-0. Vice-Mayor Bogen was inaudible during the vote.
B. MOTION TO AUTHORIZE County Administrator or her designee to negotiate, approve, and execute amendments or successor agreements to existing crossing agreements between Broward County and FECR necessary to facilitate the construction of improvements to the crossings under the agreement described in Motion A, provided the amendments or successor agreements are consistent with the existing crossing agreements’ maintenance obligations and costs as set forth by Florida Administrative Rule 14-57.011 for public railroad-highway grade crossing costs, do not increase any financial obligations of the County to maintain or repair the crossings beyond the requirements of State law and the existing agreements, and are subject to review and approval for legal sufficiency by the Office of the County Attorney. (Commission Districts 2, 4, 6 and 8)
ACTION: (T-11:03 AM) Approved.
VOTE: 8-0. Vice-Mayor Bogen was inaudible during the vote.
body
Why Action is Necessary
A. Board approval is required for the identified grant agreement.
B. Board approval or delegation is required to amend the agreements between the County and FECR.
What Action Accomplishes
A. Approval of Motion A approves referenced agreement and obligates the County to provide local match funding under a federal grant received by the BMPO associated with the construction of certain rail crossing improvements.
B. Approval of Motion B delegates the Board’s authority to the County Administrator to negotiate, approve, and execute amendments or successor agreements to existing crossing agreements between FECR and the County, subject to the amendments or successor agreements not including any increase to the County’s obligations associated with repair and maintenance of the crossings beyond the requirements of State law and the existing agreements, and subject to the amendments being reviewed and approved for legal sufficiency by the Office of the County Attorney.
Goal Related Icon(s)
☒County Commission
☐Go Green
☒MAP Broward
Previous Action Taken
None.
Summary Explanation/Background
THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT/TRAFFIC ENGINEERING DIVISION RECOMMENDS APPROVAL OF THE ABOVE MOTIONS.
This item supports the County Commissions’ Value of “Building partnerships and working collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives” and the Goals of “providing a safe community to live, work, and visit” while “cooperatively delivering an efficient and accessible regional intermodal transportation network.”
In 2022, the Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization (BMPO) applied for the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Railroad Crossing Elimination Program (RCEP) Grant to fund the Broward County Sealed Corridor project for safety improvements at 21 at-grade crossings on the FECR corridor, for which crossing roadway rights-of-way are under the jurisdiction of Broward County, and the cities of Dania Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Hallandale Beach, Hollywood, Pompano Beach, and Wilton Manors. Safety enhancements associated with the proposed crossing improvements include, among other things, the addition of exit gates and centerline raised medians, both of which have been effective in minimizing the potential for hazardous motorist maneuvers around railroad entrance gates. The RCEP Grant application outlined a total project cost of $19,300,000 for the safety improvements. There is a 20% local match component to the RCEP Grant, totaling $3,860,000, with the remaining $15,440,000 funded by the federal grant.
On June 5, 2023, the BMPO received a Notice of Award of $15,440,000 in RCEP Grant funds from the FRA for the Broward County Sealed Corridor project. Over the past year, the BMPO and Brightline Trains Florida LLC have prepared preliminary plans for the 21 FECR at-grade crossings identified in the Grant application, prepared and received approval for the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements, and addressed project-specific terms and conditions with the FRA for the RCEP Grant.
This item seeks Board approval of this Grant Participation and Reimbursement Agreement (Exhibit 1), which requires the County and the referenced municipalities to provide the local match funding for the RCEP Grant. Broward County will provide a maximum of $2,365,000 in local match funding, with the municipalities providing the remainder as more fully described in Exhibit 1.
If Item A is approved by the Board of County Commissioners and each of the municipalities, the BMPO will be authorized to proceed with executing the Subrecipient Agreement (Exhibit 2) with Brightline Trains Florida LLC and the Grant Agreement with the FRA. Upon execution of the FRA Grant Agreement, the project’s final design phase is anticipated to take approximately six months, followed by an estimated 20-month period for the completion of the safety improvements. As a condition precedent to the commencement of work on the overall project, there will need to be various amendments or successor agreements to existing crossing agreements between FECR and the municipalities and Broward County. In addition, some municipalities who do not currently have crossing agreements with FECR will need to enter into new agreements prior to commencement of the work on the project.
If Item B is approved, the County Administrator will be authorized to negotiate, approve, and execute the required amendments or successor agreements to existing crossing agreements between FECR and the County, subject to the amendments or successor agreements not including any increase to the County’s obligations associated with repair and maintenance of the crossings beyond the requirements of State law and the existing agreements, and subject to the amendments being reviewed and approved for legal sufficiency by the Office of the County Attorney. The schedule for operations and maintenance costs for rail crossings under Florida law to be paid by the County after the completion of the improvements is attached as Exhibit 3.
Funding for the County’s portion of the local match to the RCEP Grant will be coming from the Transportation Surtax. This project was previously brought before the Transportation Surtax Oversight Board at its meeting of October 13, 2022.
Source of Additional Information
Rasem Awwad, P.E., Director, Traffic Engineering Division, (954) 847-2600
Trevor M. A. Fisher, P.E., MBA, Director, Public Works Department, (954) 357-6410
Fiscal Impact
Fiscal Impact/Cost Summary
Item A: up to $2,365,000.00 of the Transportation Surtax Capital Fund is currently budgeted in FY2025 to recognize Broward County’s local match requirement for the RCEP Grant.
Item B: pending final design, an increase in the annual cost of automatic highway grade crossing traffic control devices, to be maintained by FECR, is anticipated per Florida Administrative Rule 14-57.011 for public railroad-highway grade crossing costs (Exhibit 3) and is to be paid with Constitutional Gas Tax Capital Fund.