Amp Citizen Advisory Committee

Meeting #1 April 29, 2014 Metro Nashville Downtown Public Library 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. MINUTES Attendees (those sitting at the roundtable): Special Guest Karl Dean

Nashville Mayor

MTA Staff Mark Sturtevant

Project Manager

Project Consulting Team Steve Goodreau Bob Polk

CDM Smith Volkert

Citizen Advisory Committee Bert Mathews Tina Banks Joe Barker Lee Beaman Arnett Bodenhamer Drake Calton Laura Denison Beth Fortune Richard Fulton Tricia Griggs Barrett Hobbs Coralee Holloway Mina Johnson

Lewis Lavine Cliff Lippard Dianne Neal David Plummer Mike Schatzlein Ralph Schulz Patricia Totty Tom Turner Mary Vavra Chris Veit Ben Vos

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Amp Citizen Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes: 1.) Welcome and Introductions 2.) Remarks by the Mayor Mayor Dean gives opening remarks: Thanks Bert Mathews Thanks members of the committee—willingness to join committee is vital to Nashville’s future City is at critical moment—meeting infrastructure needs shapes our future U.S. Census released pop estimates—7th fastest growing large city in US City and region are growing— Solving problem has been motivation behind the Amp—FTA prefers projects that are cost effective—this is why BRT was selected Numerous public meetings have been held—FTA selected us for funding in coming fiscal year—FTA is ready to give us 75 million dollars toward the Amp We didn’t arrive here hastily—we arrived here through a detailed planning process We have learned a lot through 120+ community meetings Our goal going forward: Transit system that works—convenient and reliable; A transit system that is as least disruptive to the property owners, businesses, and individuals who visit the corridor; System that works from transit perspective AND neighborhood perspective Mayor has asked team to address issues re: neighborhood concerns Mayor wants to build transit project that works for Nashville; more community leaders need greater involvement; We are asking for your input, and the input of the communities represented by the committee Goal is to provide forum for divergent perspectives; Mayor can’t dictate the results, no one else can dictate the results; seeking best option that benefits the most people

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Amp Citizen Advisory Committee Mayor asks everyone to keep an open mind as committee begins this new approach Task: Consult with one another and deliberate We cannot change city’s need for mass transit; current bus system won’t solve the transit issues we face Work together and not against each other. Mayor thinks it’s going to be more fun than you expect.

3.) Guiding Principles Bert Mathews: Would like to echo what the mayor said. I’ve asked each of you as I talk to you to come to this as Nashvillians; If we come to this together we can find a good solution. Guiding principles—As we have issues let’s discuss them; discuss things as a committee; this is a public meeting, not a public hearing— I think it would be helpful if we introduce ourselves to one another: 4.) Committee Member Introductions Each committee member in attendance introduced him or herself. Bert Mathews: We have quite a variety of perspectives; I encourage you to speak up. 5.) Introduction of Amp Project Team Bert Mathews: To give us an overview, let me introduce the project team; They will be asking us the questions and giving us information. Steve Goodreau: We want to touch on a broad issue and then touch on more specific issues within that broader issue; In June we want to talk about downtown—alternate routes for downtown; We want to talk about pedestrian issues, and u-turn issues; In July we want to talk about Midtown—relocating stations and dedicated bus lanes; August—What has been updated in West Nashville—including the revisions to the mixed traffic portion of the route Bob Polk: We’ve been involved in other projects like this across the state; this committee format has been successful; We will get minutes out after the meeting

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Amp Citizen Advisory Committee as well as consensus items; The goal of this process is to come to a consensus as a group on key issues. We will have another round of public meetings in late May—May 21st, 22nd—We will be getting more information out on that soon; Mark Sturtevant—I’m the project manager for the Amp for MTA; Worked on a number of other capital projects; there are still a lot of decisions to be made on this project; some are small, some are larger; we’re going to have an open mind. 6.) Upcoming Topics for Next Four Meetings Bert Mathews: After talking with several people — let’s take a tour of the route. I think that’s a good idea. There is some thought about taking one of our meetings and driving the route so that we are all viewing at the same time. I think we will put that on the agenda. Lewis Lavine: Can we do that sooner rather than later? Bert Mathews: What are your thoughts on that? Either 1 st or 2nd meeting; If the public wants to make a comment, you can go to the MTA website - Amp page and make a comment; that is the place where the public can give the committee comments. I will get that link and location to you very shortly. Finally, are there any other questions? Comments? Things we want to talk about? Mina Johnson: It would be helpful to know what other cities are doing in terms of mass transit: holds up printed information from APTA about BRT dedicated lanes; Mina also asked if Engineer team could give presentation on APTA information and pros and cons of dedicated lanes in order for the committee members to make informed decision. Bert Mathews: Send me the link to the APTA document, and I will send it out to everyone on the committee. I’d be glad to get that out. Dianne Neal: The third guiding principle has me confused. Bert Mathews: We want to make sure that as we are working through the process that it is done within the FTA requirements for the project; what we don’t want to do is come up with a system that makes us ineligible for federal dollars. Richard Fulton: Does this mean we are willing to sacrifice good design for federal dollars? Bert Mathews: We will have the time to talk about the issue; If there is something that is really interesting that comes up, we can explore it; We do have FTA

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Amp Citizen Advisory Committee funding, and to come up with ideas that stray substantially, we need to keep ideas in front of us. Mark Sturtevant: Our team has a high standard for the project; We are committed to a high quality project; We can’t make decisions that sacrifice our funding Richard Fulton: If we need to stay within the federal guidelines, it might be helpful to know the FTA guidelines. Mark Sturtevant: You make a good point. We can probably try to outline those. Lewis Lavine: I think we want both, good project and the federal funding Richard Fulton: Can you get us in the ballpark of what the federal guidelines are? Mike Schatzlein: I’m not sure that Nashville can have a mass transit project without federal funding; We have to keep the feds in mind. Bert Mathews: In terms of getting guidelines out, can we do that? Steve Goodreau: Yes, we can get the guidelines out. Bob Polk: On the state regulations side, we have been coordinating with TDOT to make sure design standards are met. The state does allow design exceptions if needed, but there is a process to follow to try to get the exceptions approved. Ben Vos: How will we work through dissent? What can we do to get issues to the table sooner and get them over with? How can we share information with the public? Bert Mathews: Because it is a public meeting, it is being filmed. Public can view the meetings; Hopefully the press provides good coverage; I want to make sure we are open and transparent; I’d like us to practice on some less contentious issues early in the process so that we can learn how to handle dissent; If there are issues that we know will require additional background information, we will send information out ahead of time. We will also keep a list of open items that don’t get finalized at meetings; as that list gets longer and longer, we have to decide how we are going to grapple with those issues—more meetings; subcommittees; let’s address it as it comes. Lee Beaman: There is a note here that each person has; Signed by members of the committee; It is a request for additional information; Feel like it would be helpful if we could get those addressed soon.

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Amp Citizen Advisory Committee Bert Mathews: I will read it and work on it post-haste; get you a response next week; I will get back to you on this. Lee Beaman: There are some good questions in here.

7.) Closing Remarks Bert Mathews: Any other questions before us? If not, 2 hours will be the plan for future meetings. I want to thank you for your commitment and your time.

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