00:00:00,000 We are at 1:30 30? OK. Good afternoon. It is the 16th of September in 2025. We’re in the Man at City Hall, the Ed Bosch. for the meeting room, um, this is the Bismarckandan Metropolitan Planning Organization, uh, policy board meeting before we start, we’ll have the Pledge of Allegiance. 00:00:28,230 Pegiance to the flag. of the United States of America. to the Republic for which it stands. nation. under God divisible liberty and justice for all All right, thank you everyone for being here. Uh, we’ll call a meeting to order if we can call roll. 00:00:56,500 Mayor Berglund Comm Zachmeyer Mayor Frelich, here, Comm Schwab. and Chaer Schmitzel. He Next item is public comment. The public comment is restricted to the prior agenda or anything on this agenda that is not a public hearing item. 00:01:20,000 Is there anyone who wished to speak A second call for Polycom A 3rd and final call for public comment. Public comment period is now closed. We’ll move on to item 4, review and approve uh the minutes from August 19th. I make a motion to approve A second Is there any discussion Hearing none we will call roll Mayor Bergund, Mayor Frelich, Cheer Schmitz, yes. Next item 5 is the draft 2026 to 2029 tip. 00:01:51,000 Steven. thank you, Chair. I will share a screen. Give me just one moment. Mm, OK, so this is exhibit A in your packets. The MPO has developed its draft 2026 through 2029, transportation improvement program showing federally funded projects in the region scheduled over the next 4 fiscal years and including other relevant information 00:02:21,370 about transportation funding in our MPO area. The MPO makes a practice of updating this document every year. There were no major textual updates to this year’s document, but the draft contains the usual, uh, updates to references, years, projects, and maps, all sections have been updated to reflect current projects and funding amounts for the MPO 00:02:43,270 area and Bizan Transit. North Dakota Department of Transportation has not yet provided updated numbers for their portion of operations and maintenance or for the project phase cost estimates. So this information will be added to the tip when it is available. 00:03:04,630 Uh, we advertise the draft tip for the required fifteen-day public comment period and we received during that period, we received 4 public comments. as well as comments from Fed Highway and FTA. So I will summarize these briefly for you. First, we received two comments from a member of the public. 00:03:25,100 One of these mentions that the road surface in the area around the state capitol due to the construction of the new lab building has been very challenging for users of Bisman Transit’s black bus route, and she is hopeful this will soon be repaired. Her other comment suggests there should be reduced taxi fares available during early and late hours when transit service is not available. 00:03:46,970 I Her other comment suggests that there should be reduced taxi fares available for the public when transit’s services are not available. Uh, we received a comment from the State Historical Society reminding us of their review process for roadway projects under North Dakota law and also a comment from Department of Water Resources along the same line reminding us of their 00:04:07,800 permitting process. Um, finally, uh, like I said, Fed Highway and FTA both provided comments on the draft document. Um, I’m working on addressing these. Some will require minor textual changes, others simply required clarification or site update to a number or table. There will be a minor change to our TTIP amendment process. 00:04:33,470 and I will scroll to that real very briefly for you. Um, this is on page 14 of the packet. um. this will be removing, uh, the amendment for, uh, the requirement for amendments to be performed when project changes negatively impact air quality or environmental justice areas since it is not clear how this threshold could be tracked So we will be 00:05:00,500 removing that, um, none of, we also received some comments from Tac yesterday at the meeting. Again, mostly very minor, um. erections related to this. There will be a new project added to 2027. program here, uh, in Eighth Avenue reconstruction project in Mand Da. that was overlooked in the initial draft. 00:05:27,270 Um, but yeah, otherwise, all the comments we received were, uh, light and typological in nature. They will be incorporated into the final document which will be brought back to the boards in October. uh for possible adoption. and they will not require an additional public comment period. So, I will give you. a brief overview of the program of projects for the tip. 00:05:50,700 So this is all the projects that are scheduled to receive funding over the next 4 years. as we have it right now. beginning in 2026, uh, our in-year, uh, Bismarck is going to be doing a safety project, 19th Street and Century Avenue, uh, turn lanes, reconstruction, uh, 1.4 million estimate. 00:06:11,070 for the cost. They will be doing another safety project for a rectangular rapid flashing beacons at Centennial Road and Jericho Road, a 234,000 estimated cost. Uh, we have a Bismarck Urban Roads Project, South Washington Street. This is a was a reconstruction project that has already been constructed. 00:06:33,500 It was done in 24, but the funding for this is a 2026, uh, funding. and Bismarck will be doing a project of local importance, so this is not a federally funded project, but Bismarck did provide us information about this project. 00:06:55,430 It’s a extension of Tyler Parkway from Century Avenue to Ash Cooley Drive, um, at a 16 million estimated cost, uh, coming from Bismarck local funding. Mandan will be doing a transportation alternatives, uh, men in high school trail on Eighth Avenue from 24urth Street to 27th Street Northwest, um, again, a new pedestrian trail. This is uh 484,000 cost estimate. Man and a student at Urban Grants Project Downtown. They’re phase one on 1st Street, 5th Avenue, and Fourth Avenue. 00:07:23,100 This has reconstruction with various pedestrian and beautification elements It is a 4.4 million estimated cost. DOT will, uh, this is a project, um that will be removed. It was mistakenly included in the tip, so that first bridge project is going to be struck from the final version. 00:07:44,530 But next up, DOT will be doing an urban regional Bismarck Expressway, uh, from Main Avenue to the end of the asphalt for microsurfacing. They’ve also been doing another uh microsurfacing project on expressway from 12th Street to Main Avenue. a microservicing on ND 1804 in Bismarck from expressway to 48th Avenue. These three projects, the costs are listed in the program. 00:08:07,370 DOT is doing a bridge project, several bridge projects, uh,, 12 miles west of US 83 North. Why a 2 on the westbound and eastbound lanes at the bridge, uh, 5 miles east of ND 25, an I-94 Those costs are around 500,000 apiece for those bridge projects. 00:08:29,730 Uh, DOT will be doing a rural project on ND 1804 along various locations on this highway for culvert rehab 775,000 estimate They are also doing a statewide ITS or intelligent transportation systems equipment, maintenance project. This includes 3 I-94 locations within the MPO area. and is listed as 1 million statewide cost. 00:08:59,700 And finally, for 26 Lincoln Park District just received a recreational trails program award. to do a 60 gravel pathway on 66th Street along 66th from Santee Road to just south of Humbert for 129,000 estimated cost. Are there any questions from the board on 2026. Any questions And we’ll move right along to 2027. 00:09:27,100 that, uh, beginning with a safety project on Bismarck’s Washington Street and Bowen, this is Washington Street and Bowen Avenue, the intersection to remove the existing traffic signal, install a raised median island, and RRFB crossing. for 140,000. Bismarck will be also doing an urban grants project on Front Avenue, 3rd Street, and 5th Street, various extents to that. 00:09:49,900 Milon overlay and a number of other pedestrian and beautification improvements. Uh, this is a 3 million estimated cost. Bismarck was just awarded a transportation alternatives for the sunrise Trail extension, um, from East Century Avenue to Sunrise Park, 591,000. 00:10:16,530 Manon was also just awarded a transportation alternatives Project 3rd Street Southeast to extend the sidewalk from 6th Avenue to 3rd Avenue This is 254,000, um, DOT will be leading a rural project on ND 1806 from I-94 North, approximately 10 miles. A chip seal coat for 650,000. DOT is doing an urban regional on Bismarck’s 7th and 9th Street for concrete pavement repair. Um, from Broadway to front and from Main Avenue to front. 00:10:40,630 They will be doing a pair of projects for concrete pavement repair on State Street and Boulevard Avenue. Those projects are tied together, and the cost estimates are in the program. 00:11:01,000 Mandan is due, well, on Manan’s 1806, uh, there’s an urban regional project from 3rd Street to 19th Street Southeast Vermillon Overlay at about 2.2 million Then DOT will be doing a bridge project on 994 or 4 miles west of US 83 for small repair, 27,000 minor project. They will be doing a safety project on Expressway and Main Avenue. to do a reconstruct turn lanes and make improvements to the traffic signals at that intersection. 00:11:26,000 for 934,000. They will be doing an urban regional project on Bismarck’s 7th and 9th again on 7th from Express rate to front, Broadway, uh, to Boulevard, 9th Street from Boulevard to Broadway, microsurfacing and pavement markings for 814,000. and then another microsurfacing project on 9th Street for 163,000. There is a bridge project for 0. 00:11:55,470 2 miles east of Mandan. Ram next to Memorial Highway Interchange, um, that is 175,000 for structure paint on that bridge, and then they have a number of paired bridge projects here, uh, too on the Memorial Highway interchange, East and Westbound, and to the Burlington Northern Railroad overhead separation. or excuse me, one at the separation. 00:12:16,730 These are all structure paint projects, uh, and then there’s also some structure repair projects on bridges 5 miles west of US 83 and 3 miles west of US 83. The costs are listed in the program, and finally, there is some work scheduled for Memorial Bridge between Bismarck and Mandan. 00:12:36,530 Deck overlay structure paint, and other minor repairs. This is listed at 6.5 million. for the program. Are there any questions on 27 from the board? Any questions Go ahead Thank you. 2028, right into that. 00:13:02,170 Bismarck is doing a safety project FY 28, uh, this is at the Divide Avenue and China Parkway intersection on the I-94 eastbound ramp. Uh, this is for pavement marking, signage, and left turn rein realignment for 80,000. Bismarck will also be doing an urban roads project, South 12th Street and Burleigh Avenue. This will be Millan Overlay, 942,000. DOT is heading a safety project Jaegen Road and University Drive. Intersection. This is intersection lighting, 165,000. 00:13:31,100 There’s also an urban regional on Bismarck’s Expressway from Washington Street to 26th Street. and following up on that, the South Washington Street and Denver Avenue intersection. This is all traffic signal work. The combinant projects combined are around 6 million in cost. DOT will be doing a number of bridge projects. 00:13:52,970 So we have a paired, paired bridge projects at the Hay Creek Railroad locate bridge location, uh, to at the Collins Avenue overpass to at the Mandan Avenue Refinery Road interchange, excuse me, 4 at the Mandan Avenue Refinery Road interchange, uh, east and westbounds, um, project costs range from about 140 to about 394,000. 00:14:19,070 And finally, there is oneorrebridge project, uh, 3 miles west of US 83 eastbound structure paint 324,000. So a lot of bridge projects in 2028. Any questions from the board? I, on the 3rd. item, the safety for Gegan Road and University Drive. That’s installing, um, the intersection lighting is that stoplight or is that pole lighting? Thank you, Mayor Berghund. 00:14:53,100 Yes, that is, um, street lighting, not traffic signals. Any other questions OK. Continue Stephen. All right. Well, then, concluding with 2029. uh, there’s a Bismarck Urban Regional Project, uh, 7th and 9th Street, intersections of Seventh and Boulevard and 9th Street and Boulevard. This is traffic signal work for 1.1 million estimated, um, I believe that is actual traffic signal replacement. 00:15:27,270 Oh, then Bismarck’s, uh, doing a safety project at Lincoln Road and Yagin Road. This is the construction of a roundabout estimated 3 million, uh, Mandan will be doing urban roads, Man and Old Ri Trail from 40th Avenue Northwest to 56th Avenue. This is reconstruction, uh, estimated 5.6 million. 00:15:51,230 and then there will be drainage improvements at the 1806 6th Avenue Northeast Railroad underpass in Mandan A again estimated 5.6 million. Um, they will, DOT will be leading urban regional and Mandan on I-94 business from the West Urban Limits 2ND6. This will involve selective grading and widening of the roadway. 1.6 million estimated. 00:16:16,500 Mandan will be doing a rural project, again, selective grading and widening, uh, from Junction Old 10 to the West urban limits, 7.1 million estimated, and then we have several uh rural projects to conclude the program. We have 2 rural projects northbound and southbound on US 83 from 57th Avenue Northwest to Wilton. about 1.3 million apiece. 00:16:36,700 We have a pair of uh a project on ND 6 from Junction 21 to Heart River in Mandan. in Chip seal coat, 1.6 million on ND 25 from Junction 994 to junction 48 and center estimated 1.9 million. and finally a chipsie colt from near Fort R Ri north to the Mandan limits on 1806. 00:17:01,270 and that is 1 point 8 million estimated, so. that concludes our program of projects. Are there any questions from the board? questions OK, doesn’t look like it, so you know, Steven, could you describe a little more, excuse me, the Mandan Project. Um Junction 0 10 to West Urban. 7.1 million. 00:17:32,230 I would have to investigate the specifics of the project. I believe that this is all some selective grading, I believe if I remember from tac yesterday is we’re not, we weren’t 100% sure what that means. It’s a DOT’s terminology, but the DOT engineer wasn’t sure what, what it was referring to exactly. 00:17:48,800 We think it means that they’re doing grading as needed on the roadway, that not the entire roadway will need, will need to be graded. There’ll be some selective widening done along that route as well. 00:18:07,370 It’s kind of tied in with a bunch of with with other rural projects that are doing some work on those roadways west of Mandan, um, we can certainly, uh, investigate for you after the meeting and uh get you some more details on that project. Anything else All right, go ahead or tell us what you need next. Thank you. 00:18:34,630 Just to conclude, I should be able to and what is present briefly on the maps at the end of the document. Just to note that we do have all these, uh, projects mapped, um, including the 2026 year, gets its own map, and then the out years. 00:19:01,270 uh, have a map and then we also have a couple of maps where these projects are overlaid against relevant uh minority populations. and um yeah, those are that kind of concludes the presentation of the draft tip. And like I said, there will be some minor changes and updates made to the document per the comments we received, but nothing substantial. 00:19:21,630 You will be seeing this document again in final form next month, but we would be looking for a motion today to approve the draft. OK Second is there any discussion Here no we’ll call roll Mayor Bergle, yes. Mayor Freli, Chair Schmitz, yes. Next item 6, the fringe area roadmap master plan. Steven this is a recommend approval of a consultant, is that correct? Yes, that is correct. I’ll be up in just a second. 00:20:07,630 And I also shared screen, uh, with the board and forgot my notes. The MPO held interviews for the fringe Area Roadmaster plan update on September 4th, 9th, and 10th of this month, uh, 4ur firms were interviewed. That was KLJSRF, Bolton and Mink and HDR. 00:20:34,730 So the selection committee consisted of representatives from all 5 MPO jurisdictions, so the counties and the cities, and I served as the moderator. The voting was close, um, but the selection committee has promoted Bolton and Man ck as a preferred consultant for this project. so I enjoyed the interview process. 00:20:55,100 Everyone did a really great job during the interviews and with the presentations, it was a hard decision, but we will be requesting of the board today approval of Bolton and Meke as the selected consultant and permission to pursue contract negotiations with them. The MPO would execute the contract after legal and NDDOT review. Uh, on the screen there is a copy of the QBS letter. 00:21:16,970 This is provided to you for informational purposes. It’s simply certifies that the NPO has complied with DOT’s qualifications-based selection requirements for the consultant selection process, and a copy will be signed by the chair after the meeting, um, are there any questions Any questions Policy board members, what are your wishes? I’ll make 00:21:42,630 the motion to approve the consultant. in a Is there any discussion He none will call roll Mayor Burland, yes, Mayorelli, and Ser Schmitz. Yes. Item 7, the 2025 safety policy study is Lucan. I’m Ann Kerchmitz. Can you hear me all right? Yes, go ahead. Thank you. Yes, thank you. 00:22:15,700 I’ll keep this brief, um, we’re marching forward, uh, with the safety policy study. We have an important meeting next week with the uh local technical staff making up our uh steering committee for for the project, um, next week we’ll be uh going over a few things of uh of importance and um that includes uh public engagement update. 00:22:43,530 Uh, we met with a few more stakeholders since last time we met with uh the steering committee will be going through uh leadership commitment and goal setting for the plan. 00:23:03,170 um will be discussing some refinements made to the safety analysis and some of the key themes that we have seen, um, in, in the trends across the uh planning area. And then uh we will be looking and diving into um some of the specific characteristics of the high injury network. 00:23:27,730 Uh, so what types of roadways, uh, what types of crashes are leading to severe um or serious injury, fatality um, and then we will be at a high level diving into the initial um comprehensive list of uh strategies those are engineering, um, type strategies, uh, we may get into a little bit open discussion about non-engineering strategies and then um specifically uh discuss how we might recommend making decisions, um. 00:23:59,800 for, uh, local jurisdictions, for example, uh, you know, their tool box may change if we’re looking at a local, uh local street versus uh uh principal arterial or an arterial roadway, uh, it may change by speed limit, uh, ADT things, things of that nature or or the type of crashes that are occurring if it’s from from people walking and biking or if 00:24:21,630 it’s uh mostly people driving. So, uh, we’re getting down to the wire here We will um be looking at a draft, um, report it’s coming together pretty quickly, but uh draft report, um, early November at the latest and so things are coming together. 00:24:43,730 We’re working with the steering committee and uh you should see a, uh, final draft, um, and public comment period in December. So coming up pretty, pretty quick here. which is hard to believe, but that, that is my update. I’d be happy to take any questions you might have. Are there any questions Thank you, Luke Yup. Thank you. Kate moving to item 8, the 2025 ITS uh, regional architectural update is Schrad. 00:25:11,870 Um, thank you, cheers Smis. Uh, can you please confirm you can hear me? We can. Thank you. OK, and I’m going to share my screen, uh, here. Uh, just give me a second over here. Um so like think I believe you still cannot see my screen. 00:25:46,530 No, we can see a wonderful photo of you. Sorry about that. Uh trying to figure, I, I’m, uh, I’m sorry, I’m out of my uh regular workspace. I’m at a conference and meeting with uh uh with a new device. 00:26:11,170 So anyways, I’ll probably skip that presentation part, however, I will, uh, I’ll definitely just try to talk, uh. um on when I’m on the video and I just want to give a, a very um brief update on the ITS, uh, architecture, uh, so, uh, first of all, thank you, uh, uh, and thank you and all the honorable member of the, uh, policy board. 00:26:30,370 Uh, it was a great opportunity to summarize this this progress. um, in for the IT architecture, we have already updated all the service packages. 00:26:50,630 So all ITS elements also have been verified, service packages were updated and uh our user services were also aligned with the latest standards, uh, which was the, um, uh, R 9.3 and uh uh it, it has been, it had been possible, uh, because of the support of the NPO and uh uh also the strong collaboration among the agencies Um, I had a very um nice table for you, uh, which I cannot, uh, uh, display 00:27:11,900 at, at this time, but I have showed it to the tech yesterday and uh over there, we had the list of stakeholders and the um also with their a meeting pack you have the service, um, service package items and uh uh from here on, uh, what I’m expecting to complete is the only the functional requirement 00:27:33,600 part. So, uh I’m going to send a copy of those to all the stakeholders where we will have the user needs, uh, where user needs is, uh, it talks about all those ITS elements and uh what are the capabilities of those ITS elements that should be to be deployed in your region, and there will also be, 00:27:53,630 uh, I’ll be talking about the functional requirements where which will essentially talk about, uh, all those keep you out of all those capabilities for each of those IPS elements, how much are actually being utilized for uh for the regime. 00:28:11,900 So, uh, we have already identified all those, and uh I’m going to send the um review packet for our, uh, for the stakeholders so that they can confirm that uh these are the um uh correct information and uh, uh, which, which will go into the uh final output for these, uh, uh, for, for this IS update. 00:28:34,800 Uh, however, uh, we have this year, we have um decided to add um add a new item to our ITS, uh, report, uh, one and that is some additional suggestions. So, uh, when, when we were having those, uh, meeting with the stakeholders, we have identified that there are certain um challenges for, uh, in terms of uh um interagency uh coordination. 00:28:58,270 So when all those IT systems work very well for each agency when it comes about data sharing, uh, there are some, um, specific challenges that they face and those issues, uh, mainly arises from the new network security protocols that have been introduced by the state IT department and uh uh obviously 00:29:18,500 those protocols are over there to protect the sensitive data and ensuring the compliance with the cybersecurity regulations, uh, and we, we, we fully, uh, support their intent and recognize the importance of that. 00:29:42,500 However, that implementation definitely um made the um um made the approval process a little bit complex, uh, even for routine data exchange. So therefore we see, uh, we believe that this can be a very good opportunity, not a setback by working, um, by working collaboratively with the state IT department. We can definitely explore our policy level adjustment or process some streamlining that will maintain the security while enabling the uh efficient uh interagency uh collaboration. 00:30:09,170 So, um, I’m uh I’m going to propose, uh, um, uh, uh, uh, I’m a task force or a um mm, for a, for a, for a group discussion which will, uh, which this uh group will uh review the current protocols. 00:30:32,170 They will identify the operational, um, um, uh, they will pinpoint the operational strategies and they recommend balanced solutions that will align um both security and service delivery posts. So those are the things that uh that will be coming and uh that’s uh uh actually all the bit that I had, uh, for the IS architecture. Any questions Thank you Thank you Next item 9, 2025 monitoring report update. 00:31:00,370 Steven. Thank you, Chair. Very, very brief. Uh, the MPO and HDR are continuing to work on the draft monitoring report document. We have made good progress. 00:31:21,800 I have been reviewing the first draft of the document this week, and we will be working on editing and finalizing that document and on, uh, training and preparing MPO staff to um keep those updates in-house in future over the next few few weeks, if there are any questions, I’m happy to take those. Any questions? No, thank you. We can move on to number 10, TIP administrative. modifications. Thank you, Chair. 00:31:44,170 I will. che All right, so exhibit E at the end of your packets. Uh, this month, the MPO processed 6 administrative modifications to our current 25 through 28 tip. 00:32:15,800 last month at DOT’s request, we moved 12 projects, 6 from funding year 27, 6 from funding year 2026 into 2025 in case additional funding came available to DOT because of the August redistribution that happens at the end of every federal fiscal year. Uh, we received word from DOT that 6 of the that that’s 6 projects moved from 27 are going back into right away into 2027. as they will not be part of that 25% funding. 00:32:35,630 These include an urban grants, project in downtown Bismarck, a microsurfacing project in Bismarck. Three concrete repair projects in Bismarck and a mill, an overlay project in Mandan, and the details of that are in the program of projects included with the exhibit. 00:33:00,530 Are there any questions Any questions I guess we knew this was coming last month, so no surprise there will be more to come. Thank you. Moving to item 11, Big sky, big skyrail. government partner program. Go ahead, Kim. Thank you, Chair Schmitz. 00:33:28,900 Uh, members of the board, Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority or BSPRA held their 4th annual conference in Livingston, Montana on September 8th through the 10th, um, this was a three-day conference emphasizing challenges and success stories in achieving passenger rail services in areas that were previously not served. Uh, also, we had heard about the benefits that passenger rail is brought to these areas, and attendees and panelists shared what benefits passenger rail could bring to their communities and residents. 00:33:52,370 These things included, uh, providing dependable, affordable, and accessible transportation options to access healthcare, reducing negative effects of isolation for residents, especially for elderly and non-driving residents of rural communities and economic development and growth opportunities brought in by passenger rail service and positive impacts to tourism opportunities among other things. 00:34:19,700 Now, in conjunction with this 4th annual conference, the first, the very first, um, a government partner program, uh, uh, workshop was held and that was the reason that I attended this conference, uh, since we are government partner program members for the year of 2025. Uh, there was a keynote address that was given by John Robert Smith. He’s, he’s quite a renowned um advocate for passenger rail transportation. 00:34:42,600 He is currently with the Transportation for America. He was a former sixteen-year mayor, uh, from a small town called Meridian, Mississippi, and, um, the, uh, advent of passenger rails through their region and what it brought to that small town of 33,000 some people, um, is just short of amazing. 00:35:05,100 Uh, it turned the, the town into a, a far south cultural and arts, um, epicenter, um, and destination, um, his story was very inspiring, um, and uplifting and, um, his can-do attitude was quite contagious, I think, um. 00:35:28,070 but you know, some of the things that I pulled from that was that their historical train depot, which was, was, uh, constructed in 1906, became the Union Station Multi - t ran s port ation Center. Um, it served passenger and freight rail. It served, uh, public transportation services such as transit and also uh a number of other multimodal transportation options from that hub. 00:35:57,800 This, um, this multimodal center was likened to another success story in the nation, and that is the Union Station of Denver, Colorado, which was, uh, a historical train depot that was allow ed to fall into, um, a real dilapidated, uh, state of disrepair to the point where the community shunned it. 00:36:17,270 Um, they, it was just known as a, a bad place to be, not a good area. Stay away from it. And, and it was very near being demoed when it was, um, resurrected and turned into not only a functioning passenger rail station, uh, but also a, a gathering hub for the community with events and, and all kinds of things going on and it’s 00:36:40,730 just, um, revitalized that entire area of town. So again, another very inspiring, uh, story with success story based on what passenger rail can do for our community. Uh, we also heard from Knox Ross. He’s the Chair of the Southern Rail Commission. 00:37:04,000 He, he and his commission are basically credited with connecting, uh, the South with passenger rail service. They, uh, they formed a tri-state, um. uh, agreement between the states of, uh, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama to provide passenger rail service from New Orleans to Mobile, and uh the state DOTs of Mississippi and Louisiana supported this, um, both, uh, in fact, and in funding, however, the state of Alabama DOT was reluctant to 00:37:32,470 provide any funding sources for it. And so the commission went to the city of Mobile and they said, You are the destination city for this passenger rail line. We would ask very humbly asked if you would put up the local match for this. 00:37:51,530 and they said, who wants to come to Mobile? Nobody wants to come here. They were finally convinced to put the money up. They matched it. The rail line, uh, after, let me see, they, they started this effort in 1982. It ran its first train on August 18th of 25. So what is that? 43 years in the making, finally came to realization. 00:38:13,500 I know we’re, we’re hoping for something way quicker than that. I saw that look, Mayor. So, um, the, I think the moral of the story is not only are people going to Mobile. They’re paying higher priced fares to travel from Louisiana to Mobile than Mobile to New Orleans. So that’s kind of an eye opener. 00:38:34,270 In the 1st 4 weeks of service, um, all of the projections and expectations for ridership have been shattered. They’ve served over 10,000 riders on this service so far and counting. So, um, again, very inspirational. 00:39:00,370 The continuing emphasis throughout this entire conference, um, through the presentation and the roundtable discussions was, first of all, we need our congressional and senatorial support. We need to contact our, our congressmen and our senators and tell them how vitally important passenger rail is to our community, to our region. to our citizens, to our visitors, and to us. Um, uh, we also need to form multi-state cooperative agreements or to, uh, form regional alliances and coordination. 00:39:27,100 And I think, um, we’ve already taken the first step in that, uh, by becoming government partner program members, and it helps us to coordinate our planning efforts in this, in, in, um. the return of passenger rail to our area, uh, and then finally we heard this over and over again. 00:39:47,500 Planning for station location is very important, yes, but first, we must get the train here. The stations won’t matter if we don’t get a train. So get the train, get the train, get the train. Plan the stations, and also don’t give up. 00:40:08,370 Uh, so why does this impact us? Um, well, we received an update from BSPRA regarding their corridor ID project and as you remember, that’s the restoration of the North Coast Hiawatha. They’re calling that the Big sky North Coast corridor now, um, they are now entering phase 2 or stage 2 of the corridor ID program project. 00:40:27,970 So, um what this is going to entail is the service plan development and it’s going to be very comprehensive, very arduous effort on their part, and it will determine um service times. It will determine station locations, and we as an MPO uh, and our jurisdictions with their support have approved a work program that includes a study, uh, and the money budgeted for a study to help ident ify appropriate and feasible, uh, passenger rail service station 00:40:59,430 locations within our region. So the information that we heard from BSPRA and where they’re at with their corridor ID program project aligns almost perfectly with our study timeline because we’re going to be starting our study in mid 26 and, uh, concluding that study and getting its recommendations in mid 27 that will align with BSPRA starting to identify 00:41:28,270 their station locations in mid to late 2027. So it was very encouraging to hear that we are doing the right things and we’re doing them at the right times. um do you have any questions for me? I could talk all day about this, but. Any questions I, I don’t, I don’t think so. All right. 00:41:48,270 Well, thank you very much for your time. I appreciate it. Thank you. Do we have any other business today? You see none.