TO: Mayor and Members of City Council
THRU: Adam Lindsay, Assistant City Manager
FROM: Sheila Thomas-Ambat, PE, CCM, CFM, Public Services Director
Brian McGill, PE, PTOE, Interim Assistant Public Services Director - Traffic Services
DATE: February 10, 2025
RE:
Title
Safe Streets and Roadways for All Grant Agreement Amendment - Revising Schedule
end
COUNCIL DISTRICT(S):
Council District(s)
All
b
Relationship To Strategic Plan:
Goal I: The City of Fayetteville will be a safe and secure community.
Goal III: The City of Fayetteville will be a city invested in Today and Tomorrow.
Goal V: Be a financially sound city providing exemplary city services.
Goal VI: The City of Fayetteville will continue to have a collaborative citizen and business engagement base.
Executive Summary:
The Safe Streets and Roadways for All (SS4A) grant agreement defines a period of performance with a project deadline of February 19th, 2025. Staff are requesting consent for the City Manager to execute the grant amendment to reflect a period of performance ending on July 19th, 2028. The revised date for the final project report would become January 31st, 2026.
Background:
What Is It: Safe Streets and Roadways for All (SS4A) is a plan to work towards eliminating traffic fatalities and severe injuries on the City’s roads. It does this with the help of a consultant as well as a taskforce comprised of stakeholders such as Ft. Liberty, NCDOT, and Cumberland County Schools to name a few. This approach works on the concept that one group won’t be able to solve the issue alone. Roadway infrastructure alone won’t save lives, but it will require safer people, post-crash care, safer speeds, and working together as a community. The first task we’re working through is a data analysis to recommend countermeasures for hot spots, while the second is a public engagement plan. There’s a myriad of supporting tasks as well, including reviewing our Residential Traffic Management Program, law enforcement strategies to combat aggressive and unsafe driving behaviors, and a review of our Code of Ordinances and UDO to name a few. Our project schedule, which is attached, is aggressive with a 12-month timeframe, whereas traditional SS4A plans are 18 months or longer. Based on our current project schedule the final project report is scheduled to be completed by September 30th, 2025.
The Issue: The SS4A grant agreement was executed on July 19th, 2023. The period of performance is defined in the grant as 19 months from the date of the grant execution, which puts the project deadline on February 19th, 2025. By this date, the planned action plan must be complete, meaning our final project report. Any work performed after this date will not be reimbursed by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Our final report, the planned action plan, will not be completed by this date.
Proposed Solution: The City’s SS4A project manager has discussed extending the period of performance with FHWA and is seeking an amendment to the grant agreement. The City’s FHWA contact has indicated a willingness to amending the grant to extend the period of performance. The period of performance being proposed would be 5 years (60 months), putting the project deadline on July 19th, 2028. Revising the period of performance would allow us to revise the scope of work and project schedule to deliver a more complete product, provide a buffer against any unforeseen circumstances such as a grant freeze, and not run afoul of the FHWA deadline. With the period of performance revised, we will also look to shift the draft project report to September 30th, 2025, and final project report to January 31st, 2026 to provide a more comprehensive final product.
The Request: Staff are requesting Council to provide approval to submit a request to FHWA for a grant amendment, and for the City Manager to execute the grant amendment upon receipt. If this extension is not granted by FHWA then work on SS4A for the City will be paused on February 19th, 2025.
As of writing this request and entering it onto the agenda, the grant amendment is still under review by FHWA. The City’s FHWA contact has submitted the amendment for approval, and once approval is received, will provide the amendment to the City. The amendment, which is attached, is what was submitted for approval. No revisions to the attached amendment are expected. If council provides consent then the grant amendment will be provided to the City Manager for approval upon receipt from FHWA.
Issues/Analysis:
Safe Streets For All’s grant agreement’s deadline is approaching and we are requesting an extension.
Budget Impact:
N/A
Options:
Option 1 - Approve the grant amendment submission to FHWA and permit the City Manager to execute the grant amendment upon receipt from FHWA.
Option 2 - Disapprove and return to staff with direction.
Recommended Action:
Option 1 - Approve Grant Agreement Amendment
Attachments:
City of Fayetteville SS4A CSAP Schedule_10222024_v1.pdf
693JJ32340273_Final Draft_redline.pdf
693JJ32340273_Final Draft_clean.pdf