Governing Board Action: November 9, 2007
NOACA Board Urges Congress to Fully Fund SAFETEA-LU

At its November 9 meeting, the NOACA Governing Board, adopted a resolution urging the United States Congress to take the necessary action to fully fund the current surface transportation law, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) to authorized levels.

This action is needed to address an anticipated shortfall in the federal Highway Trust Fund (HTF) that could reduce highway funding by 36 to 42 percent at the start of federal fiscal year 2009. The shortfall would result in the reduction of funding allocated to the NOACA region by approximately $51 million and jeopardize the implementation of the projects scheduled in the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for state fiscal years 2009 and 2010.

In other business, the Governing Board revised the region’s functional classification system by changing 6.15 miles of Smith Road in York, Lafayette, Chatham and Litchfield Townships (Medina County) from “Rural Minor Collector” to “Rural Major Collector.” The action will qualify this section of Smith Road for federal aid.

The Governing Board also voted to allow its Executive Committee to review and perhaps revise its governance policies, including the issue of weighted voting, which gives Board members voting power proportional to the population they represent in NOACA’s five-county region.

NOACA air quality staff presented recommendations for the Fine Particle State Implementation Plan (SIP). The SIP includes programs and strategies designed to bring areas of the state that currently do not meet federal clean air standards for fine particles into compliance by the year 2010. In the NOACA region, only Geauga County meets U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) standards for fine particles (soot, dirt, and other matter less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter). You can view a full report on the recommendations as a PDF file.