Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Public Transit

TO:	Thomas Markus, City Manager
FROM:	Robert Nugent, Transit Administrator
CC:	Casey Toomay, Assistant City Manager Diane Stoddard, Assistant City Manager
DATE:	April 25, 2016
RE:	UPDATE to Transit Center – TIGER Grant Application

Following submittal of the agenda materials on April 21, 2016, the City and University continued to refine the design and cost estimates for the facility.  In order to accommodate the number of parking spaces desired by the University, a fourth deck was added to the structure.  The result was an increase in the total cost of the facility.  Estimates for the multimodal facility are now $34 million, of which $14 million would be provided under the TIGER Grant, $16 million from the University, and $4 million from the City.

Although necessary to accommodate the additional parking, this may also better position this project for funding. The maximum percentage of a project that can be funded under a TIGER Grant is 80%. The University commitment of additional funds would reduce the requested amount of the TIGER Grant funding to approximately 41%. Locally funding a project at this level is generally viewed as extremely positive during the review process.

In late February USDOT made available a competitive grant opportunity that, if successful, could provide a considerable amount of funding to such a project. The deadline for the submittal of a grant is April 29, 2016. Due to the uncertainty of similar grants being made available in the future City Commission approved hiring consultants to assist with preparing and submitting a proposal for a multimodal facility.

Submitting the grant proposal does not commit the City to constructing a multimodal center at Lot 90 nor does it commit to a multimodal center. The process of evaluating the site will continue long after the submittal of the grant proposal. Both traffic and environmental analysis will not be completed at the time of the submittal and will continue, like the public process, until the possible award of a grant sometime this fall.