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August 9, 1995 Memo To: Downtown Transit Center Technical Task Force From: John Whittington Manager, Planning and Marketing Subject: Discussions with the Federal Transit Administration Sta.ff has had an opportunity to talk with representatives of the Federal Transit Administration (FT'Aj concerning many oi the questions that have come up in committee meetings. roiiawing is a summary of our questions and conversarion. Can the District "phase in" the transit center project, and the grant funds, over a period of years? (Asked in relation to the Senator block, and the County's need for time to phase out of the existing facilities there) The answer was a very qualified "yes," phasing can be done on a reasonably short term. There are no hard and fast rules defining what an acceptable timeline is. The District sets its schedule for the project in the application process for the federal funds, and it is there that we would identify the timeline and phasing of the work. FTA representatives suggested that acceptance of a lengthier-than-usual rimeline would be a collaborative process, the Distxict working with FTA to come up with a mutually acceptable project. There was an implication that two or three years might be justified, four or five years would be getting into the area of unreasonability. The FTA would expect progress on the project to be expeditious and carried out in good faith. The FTA representatives noted that if a very long timeline is necessary, and if complicated arrangements are needed to phase in development on the Senator block, that raises the question in r I'A's mind about the 5enator niock being ihe best alternative. The environmental assessment must look at altemarive sites, and an unreasonable timeline at one site should make some of the other site alternatives look more attractive. Can the District use federal grant funds to replace parking that is lost due to the project? Yes, with the key word being 'replace.' While the FTA representatives noted that it may be inconsistent for a transit district to be building parking, replacement-in-kind of parking lost due to a transit project was a pernussible use of grant funds. Additional parking spaces, beyond the number of spaces lost, cannot be provided with the federal money.