To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
Through: David L. Corliss, Town Manager
Dan Sailer, Public Works Director
From: Thomas Reiff, Transportation Planner
Title
Discussion/Direction: Castle Rock Small Urbanized Area Direct Recipient Study
Body
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Executive Summary
The purpose of this memo is to seek direction from Town Council regarding a proposed study to evaluate impacts, requirements, and opportunities presented by the new Castle Rock Small Urbanized Area (UZA) designation. The new UZA is a federal designation that applies to the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) allocation of Urbanized Area Formula Grants (Section 5307 funds). The new designation is the result from the 2020 U.S. Census. According to the Census, the Castle Rock Small UZA area has a reported population of 83,350. Small area UZA’s have a population between 50,000 and 199,999. The Castle Rock Small UZA consists of mostly the I-25 corridor of Castle Rock, but also unincorporated areas of Douglas County, and the City of Castle Pines. See Attachment A for a map of the Castle Rock Small UZA boundaries. Also included in Attachment B are supplemental updates to current transit projects; Douglas County’s Integrated Transit and Multimodal Study, CDOT’s Mobility Hub project and the State’s Front Range Passenger Rail project for informational purposes.
As of Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24), the UZA will be eligible to receive funds under the Section 5307 Urbanized Area Formula funds on an annual basis. According the FTA website, the Castle Rock Small UZA funding amount is estimated at roughly $1.8 million dollars for FY24. The Town is eligible to compete for these funds with the County and the City of Castle Pines. We are currently obligated under our Operations and Maintenance Agreement with CDOT as part of the Crystal Valley Interchange (CVI) to complete certain transit related activities that these funds could be used toward. Eligible public entities may elect to become direct recipients of FTA funds. Direct recipients are subject to oversight by the FTA, which includes items such as additional reporting requirements, certifications, and compliance reviews. However, if the State or other agency is established as the direct recipient, the Town is eligible to become a sub- recipient of the 5307 funds. As a sub-recipient the Town would apply through the direct recipient for grants to help fund eligible projects.
The proposed study would be a partnership between the Town, Douglas County and City of Castle Pines to conduct and research the requirements, pros and cons, and impacts of becoming a direct recipient of FTA funds.
History of Past Town Council, Boards & Commissions, or Other Discussions
The Castle Rock UZA is a new designation created by the 2020 U.S. Census. There is no history of past Councils, Boards, or Commissions regarding this issue.
Discussion
In 2023, the Town was informed that a new Small UZA was created by the completion of the 2020 U.S. Census. This new UZA includes areas of Castle Rock, unincorporated Douglas County and the City of Castle Pines. Castle Rock makes up the majority of the UZA area, including Downtown, Crystal Valley Ranch, Founders, and the Meadows subdivisions (see Attachment A). Areas outside the Town includes the unincorporated Village at Castle Pines, and the neighborhoods west of I-25 in the City of Castle Pines.
Since the UZA designation, Town staff along with staff from Douglas County, Castle Pines, CDOT, and the FTA have been meeting to discuss the implications of the designation. The FTA has shared information with the Town, such as FTA circulars that discuss various FTA programs, agency eligibility, and award management requirements for potential grants. However, before any grants can be awarded to an eligible agency a direct recipient of the FTA 5307 funds needs to be established.
Douglas County, Castle Pines and the Town would like to partner to conduct a study to fully understand the implications and requirements of being identified as a direct recipient and how the UZA will operate. It will also research what is necessary to become a direct recipient including staffing needs and training, and help answer issues such as:
• Who will be the UZA direct recipient to the FTA
• What expectations and impacts will be placed on the direct recipient
• Governing and funding structure of the UZA
• How will grants be awarded
• How and what services will be provided (3rd party or agency)
• Who will manage the service
• Eligible agencies for the funds
• Other issues identified during the study
The study will be managed by the Town and utilize the on-call list of consultants to conduct the study, which is estimated to cost between $60,000 to $80,000 and last 8-10 months. Since a recipient process has not been established yet, the study is not eligible to use any FTA 5307 funds to complete. The Town, County and Castle Pines have discussed a partnership to manage the study and share the cost. Currently, the County has discussed funding 50% of the cost, and since the UZA is mostly within Town limits, the Town would contribute 37.5% of the cost and Castle Pines the remaining 12.5%. This scenario could result in the Town contributing up to $30,000 toward the study.
Section 5307 funds are available for transit planning, capital projects, and operations. Funds are available for plans, engineering and design, evaluation of public transportation projects, and other technical transportation related studies. Capital he program may include purchasing new vehicles, maintaining vehicles, or constructing supporting infrastructure. These project types are based on an 80/20 percent funding split, 80% FTA funds with a 20% local match. Transit operations is based on a 50/50 funding split, with 50% coming from the FTA and 50% local match.
A potential use of 5307 funds may be to assist in funding the transit studies identified in the Crystal Valley Interchange Transportation Demand Management (TDM) plan. This would include the Transit Operations Plan, Financial Plan, and the Marketing Plan. The Town has committed to completing these studies by the end of 2029. Funding can also be used to operate the local microtransit service in Town as identified in the 2020 Castle Rock Transit Feasibility Study.
Schedule
If staff is directed to pursue the study, an agreement with our partners (Douglas County, City of Castle Pines) will be completed before the study begins. The study is estimated to take 8-10 months to complete.
Budget Impact
Staff is recommending the study be funded from the existing Miscellaneous Projects and Studies account (#120-3175-431-75-24), which has $25,000, and the Other Professional Services account (#120-3120-4312.30-70), which contains a project savings of $5,392.50 from the Downtown Wayfinding Sign Plan. The final cost of the study will be determined once the on-call consultant is selected and awarded the project. Since the accounts are currently funded in the 2024 budget no additional action is required.
Staff Recommendation
Staff is recommending to financially partner on this study up to $30,000 unless Town Council provides different direction.
Proposed Motion
“I move to direct staff to partner with Douglas County and the City of Castle Pines to conduct the Castle Rock Small Urbanized Area Direct Recipient Study.”
Alternative Motions:
“I move to direct staff to ______.”
“I move to continue this item to a future Town Council meeting date in order to… ”
Attachments
Attachment A: Castle Rock Small UZA Boundary Map
Attachment B: Supplemental Transit Project Updates