Jeff Boothe has extensive project level experience at all phases of capital project development under the Capital Investment Grants (“CIG”) program. A key element of the CIG project development process is the development of a Project Management Plan. In the past decade, cities, special purpose authorities, and other project sponsors have emerged and the PMP must respond to the roles and responsibilities of the transit agency, typically as the “designated grant recipient”, as well as the other parties, many of which are contributing capital and operating funds for a project. This leads to the development of interlocal agreements and Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) to capture those roles while satisfying the Federal Transit Administration (“FTA”) that the roles and responsibilities of the parties are fully captured in the PMP document.
Jeff has worked with many project sponsors on governance issues for the purposes of advancing a project for funding through the CIG program. Specific examples of project governance work are as follows:
Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) Strategic Advisory Services: served as a strategic advisor to HART (1) to develop an organizational plan for expanded capital project delivery capacity in light of the 2018 sales tax referendum, (2) interact with Board of Directors to discuss the proposed plan and to scale up capital project delivery capacity in response to the successful vote, and, (3) to assist the General Manager to move forward with the implementation of a capital plan that includes a range of transit investments within Hillsborough County, such as expanded bus services, fixed guideway investments, ferry and the modernization and expansion of the existing streetcar system.
Tampa Bay Regional Transit Project: served as a strategic advisor to the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority (TBARTA) to advance the proposed Bus Rapid Transit project through the CIG program. Key issues addressed during the engagement were the eligibility of the project for CIG funding, the governance agreement among the counties represented on the TBARTA Board, and the development of a Project Management Plan (“PMP”).
Atlanta Regional Transit-Link Authority (ATL): the ATL is a new regional transit planning authority created by the State Legislature in 2018 for the thirteen county Atlanta region. Served as an advisor to the House Transit Committee and Committee Chairman Kevin Tanner on federal statutes and guidance, securing status as designated grant recipient and identifying examples of transit planning bodies in the United States to emulate in the creation of the ATL.
Atlanta Beltline Transit Task Force: Engaged by Atlanta Beltline, Inc. in 2018 to lead a regional task force to examine transit options for the 22-mile Atlanta Beltline corridor that circumnavigate the city of Atlanta on an abandoned freight railroad corridor. Led several meetings of the task force to identify viable transit options, to compare capital costs and life-cycle operating costs. The product of the task force was the preparation of regional report that will be used to guide future decisions in the selection of a transit option to serve the Beltline corridor and connect to other regional transit investments.
Northwest Corridor Bus Rapid Transit: The city of Columbus (“City”) and the Central Ohio Transit Authority (“COTA”) are jointly advancing a proposed bus rapid Transit (“BRT”) connecting the city of Columbus to Dublin, Ohio. The City is leading the initial phase of the project with COTA serving as a co-lead. Engaged to develop a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) that will include an organizational chart and policies to guide regional decision-making from pre-Project Development (“PD”) through the PD phase of the CIG project approval process. Facilitate a discussion among the regional stakeholders relying on peer organizations and lessons learned from similar projects to lead to the development of the MOU.
Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee Commuter Rail: Wisconsin Transit and Realty Group (WTRG) seeks to advance a commuter rail project on the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee (KRM) freight rail in partnership with Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT). WisDOT would be the sponsoring state agency as the designated grant recipient for a project that seeks CIG funds but would be built and operated as Public Private Partnership (P3). Advising WTRG on the sponsorship agreement with WisDOT, provide strategic assistance to both WTRG and WisDOT to meet FTA expectations regarding the project management plan and advancing the project into Project Development and through the Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program.