Memorandum

Lawrence-Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Organization (L-DC MPO)

TO:	David L. Corliss, Lawrence City Manager
FROM:	Todd Girdler, L-DC MPO Senior Transportation Planner
CC: Date:   RE:	Scott McCullough, L-DC MPO Secretary Jessica Mortinger, L-DC MPO Transportation Planner August 30, 2011 Public Participation Consultant RFP (Request for Proposal) for the Update of the Metropolitan Transportation Plan (Transportation 2030)

The MPO recognizes the value of plans developed with community direction and support. The MPO’s Public Participation Plan (PPP) calls for the development of our Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) to have a meaningful public involvement program. Our desire to develop the MTP through an open and deliberative planning process involving a series of public involvement workshops and meetings; involvement with the MPO’s Technical Advisory Committee; informational briefings and public hearings at MPO, city commission, and county commission meetings; and website updates. Considering the large amount of time required for coordinating all of these activities and the time needed by the MPO staff to provide the best MTP update possible, some assistance in coordinating and carrying out parts of the MTP public participation program are necessary.

During the previous MTP update the stakeholder and public participation process included opportunities for input via the T-2030 website, public meetings, and stakeholder interviews. The draft Plan was made available for a 30-day review period and was presented to the Lawrence City Commission, the Douglas County Commission, and the Lawrence- Douglas County MPO. Comments that were received were discussed by the T-2030 Steering Committee and incorporated in the final document where appropriate.  It is the MPO staff’s intention to carry out a process similar to the one used for T-2030. We want to ensure that our public involvement process for the upcoming 2040 MTP follows our PPP and satisfies our KDOT and USDOT partners while obtaining meaningful local input.

In order to assist the MPO staff in that effort, the MPO applied for and received $20,000 additional Consolidated Planning Grant (CPG) funding from KDOT to hire a consultant to conduct public participation for the MTP update. MPO staff would like to have a consultant host and provide the support work for scheduling public meetings, sending out invitations for meetings, creating and presenting a public presentation, compiling public comments, creating a web site for this MTP update, and drafting the public involvement chapter of the MTP document. Having this assistance will ensure the timely completion of a high quality MTP document.

The MPO is using KDOT in-kind contributions during 2011 and 2012 from the 5-County Regional Transportation Study as match for this additional funding allocation. No local cash match will be required. The RFP to be sent out to fulfill the stated purpose is attached.

City Commission Action Requested

Approve the RFP to seek a consultant to aid staff in completing the public participation plan for the Metropolitan Transportation Plan update.

If you have any questions, please contact Todd Girdler at (785) 832-3155 or by email at tgirdler@lawrenceks.org.