RECOMMENDED ACTION: That the Board authorize the execution of the Cooperative Agreement with the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District for the Whiskey Island Connector Trail which shall commit Cleveland Metroparks to certain maintenance and operational standards, inclusive of a commitment to fund the cost of future water main installation up to $100,000, and that the Board authorize the Chief Executive Officer to execute agreements, together with supplemental instruments or documents related thereon, if any, as deemed necessary or appropriate and in form acceptable to the Chief Legal & Ethics Officer. (e) Authorization to Submit an Application to the Department of Transportation’s Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Grant Program (Originating Sources: Brian M. Zimmerman, Chief Executive Officer/Sean E. McDermott, P.E., Chief Planning & Design Officer/Sara Byrnes Maier, Senior Strategic Park Planner)
Background The federal Department of Transportation has announced a highly competitive discretionary grant program for national infrastructure investments that have a significant impact on a metropolitan area or region. The Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant program was previously known as the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program. Cumulatively, the BUILD/TIGER program has awarded $7.9 billion to 609 surface transportation projects since 2009, including many with multimodal components. Cleveland Metroparks received $7.95 million in the TIGER VIII round in 2016 for its Re-Connecting Cleveland: Pathways to Opportunity application, submitted in partnership with The Trust for Public Land and L.A.N.D. studio, Inc. The TIGER award, along with additional federal and state grants as well as philanthropic support, has enabled construction of five trail projects: the Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway Connector and Canal Basin Park Connector projects that were completed in August 2019, and the Wendy Park Bridge, Whiskey Island Connector, and Red Line Greenway, which are projected to be complete in March 2021. The 2020 BUILD application cycle will fund at least $15 million of the $1 billion available on projects for planning and preconstruction activities, including engineering and design; planning funds were last awarded under the TIGER VI round in 2014. Evaluation criteria include safety, economic competitiveness, quality of life, environmental sustainability, state of good repair, innovation, and partnership. Successful applicants will be announced by September 15, 2020, and projects must be under contract by the statutory deadline of September 30, 2022 and all funds must be expended by September 2027. Cleveland Metroparks has been working with partners including the City of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County Planning Commission, Cuyahoga County Department of Public Works, and the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) to develop a
APRIL 16, 2020 PAGE 13 ACTION ITEMS (cont.)
BUILD planning grant application to advance several of the 69 regionally significant trails and bikeway projects identified through the Cuyahoga Greenways Plan that was completed in 2019 and available at www.cuyahogagreenways.org.
Several projects have been designated as candidates for feasibility-level planning studies, while others will be fully engineered and designed. As currently proposed, the federal BUILD grant program will fund the performance of planning and/or engineering activities for some or all of the three project groupings shown in the table below and depicted in map form on pages 31 to 32 . The total federal BUILD funding request will not exceed $3,000,000 in federal grant funds, requiring $750,000 in matching funds, for total costs of $3,750,000. The final funding request, including the number of projects and respective levels of development, will be determined based on the amount of local matching funds assembled through the partnership to meet the required minimum 20 percent local share. Additional funds will also be sought for local match through other non-federal grant programs and/or private sources. Potential BUILD Application Projects
Cuyahoga Greenways Plan ID
RECOMMENDED ACTION: That the Board authorize the submittal of the grant application to the Department of Transportation for funding assistance from the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant program in an amount not to exceed $3,750,000 for the above listed Cuyahoga Greenways Plan project planning components; inclusive of a minimum 20% local match component which shall be provided by other non-federal grant programs, private sources, and/or contributions from project partners inclusive of Cleveland Metroparks; and further that the Board authorizes the funds to be made available as needed until reimbursement is received from the BUILD program; and further that the Board authorizes the Chief Executive Officer to enter into agreements and execute any documents as may be required to accept the grant award; form of agreements to be approved by the Chief Legal & Ethics Officer.
Big Creek Connects is proud to have accomplished much towards our stated mission since our founding nearly 20 years ago. During that time, we have also been receptive of ways to more effectively increase our capacity to develop and implement projects related to our vision.
We are therefore pleased to announce that, after working closely with West Creek Conservancy for all these years, both organizations agreed to merge our operations. WCC has long seemed the best choice to partner with, due to the organization’s shared focus on greenway and trail development, its ability to acquire and conserve property, its greater financial capacity, and that the watershed it represents is adjacent to Big Creek’s.
After several years of negotiations, we plan for the merger to take effect in January 2025. BCC will become a division of WCC, and our board will become a committee with advisory and oversight responsibilities on projects and programs related to Big Creek, including those that are currently in effect. BCC Vice Chair Garrett Ormiston, as a member of the committee, will also join WCC’s Board of Directors.
The committee will monitor Big Creek trail and greenway development, ongoing conservation and restoration efforts, and community outreach and engagement programs. Bob Gardin, BCC’s Executive Director, will become a Program Manager, working with WCC staff continuing to develop and implement these same efforts.
We are pleased to share with you some of this past year’s accomplishments in this report and how they will continue into the new year.
Big Creek Connects’ Board and staff are deeply grateful for the support we’ve received over the years. We encourage you to continue to support us as we merge with West Creek Conservancy and work together to fulfill our founding mission more effectively in the years ahead.
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Recommended Action: Morgana Run
RECOMMENDED ACTION: That the Board authorize the execution of the Cooperative Agreement with the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District for the Whiskey Island Connector Trail which shall commit Cleveland Metroparks to certain maintenance and operational standards, inclusive of a commitment to fund the cost of future water main installation up to $100,000, and that the Board authorize the Chief Executive Officer to execute agreements, together with supplemental instruments or documents related thereon, if any, as deemed necessary or appropriate and in form acceptable to the Chief Legal & Ethics Officer. (e) Authorization to Submit an Application to the Department of Transportation’s Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Grant Program (Originating Sources: Brian M. Zimmerman, Chief Executive Officer/Sean E. McDermott, P.E., Chief Planning & Design Officer/Sara Byrnes Maier, Senior Strategic Park Planner)
Background The federal Department of Transportation has announced a highly competitive discretionary grant program for national infrastructure investments that have a significant impact on a metropolitan area or region. The Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant program was previously known as the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program. Cumulatively, the BUILD/TIGER program has awarded $7.9 billion to 609 surface transportation projects since 2009, including many with multimodal components. Cleveland Metroparks received $7.95 million in the TIGER VIII round in 2016 for its Re-Connecting Cleveland: Pathways to Opportunity application, submitted in partnership with The Trust for Public Land and L.A.N.D. studio, Inc. The TIGER award, along with additional federal and state grants as well as philanthropic support, has enabled construction of five trail projects: the Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway Connector and Canal Basin Park Connector projects that were completed in August 2019, and the Wendy Park Bridge, Whiskey Island Connector, and Red Line Greenway, which are projected to be complete in March 2021. The 2020 BUILD application cycle will fund at least $15 million of the $1 billion available on projects for planning and preconstruction activities, including engineering and design; planning funds were last awarded under the TIGER VI round in 2014. Evaluation criteria include safety, economic competitiveness, quality of life, environmental sustainability, state of good repair, innovation, and partnership. Successful applicants will be announced by September 15, 2020, and projects must be under contract by the statutory deadline of September 30, 2022 and all funds must be expended by September 2027. Cleveland Metroparks has been working with partners including the City of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County Planning Commission, Cuyahoga County Department of Public Works, and the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) to develop a
APRIL 16, 2020 PAGE 13 ACTION ITEMS (cont.)
BUILD planning grant application to advance several of the 69 regionally significant trails and bikeway projects identified through the Cuyahoga Greenways Plan that was completed in 2019 and available at www.cuyahogagreenways.org.
Several projects have been designated as candidates for feasibility-level planning studies, while others will be fully engineered and designed. As currently proposed, the federal BUILD grant program will fund the performance of planning and/or engineering activities for some or all of the three project groupings shown in the table below and depicted in map form on pages 31 to 32 . The total federal BUILD funding request will not exceed $3,000,000 in federal grant funds, requiring $750,000 in matching funds, for total costs of $3,750,000. The final funding request, including the number of projects and respective levels of development, will be determined based on the amount of local matching funds assembled through the partnership to meet the required minimum 20 percent local share. Additional funds will also be sought for local match through other non-federal grant programs and/or private sources. Potential BUILD Application Projects
Cuyahoga Greenways Plan ID
RECOMMENDED ACTION: That the Board authorize the submittal of the grant application to the Department of Transportation for funding assistance from the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant program in an amount not to exceed $3,750,000 for the above listed Cuyahoga Greenways Plan project planning components; inclusive of a minimum 20% local match component which shall be provided by other non-federal grant programs, private sources, and/or contributions from project partners inclusive of Cleveland Metroparks; and further that the Board authorizes the funds to be made available as needed until reimbursement is received from the BUILD program; and further that the Board authorizes the Chief Executive Officer to enter into agreements and execute any documents as may be required to accept the grant award; form of agreements to be approved by the Chief Legal & Ethics Officer.
Big Creek Watershed group merges with West Creek
Worth noting
Big Creek watershed group merges with West Creek Conservancy -
Big Creek Connects is proud to have accomplished much towards our stated mission since our founding nearly 20 years ago. During that time, we have also been receptive of ways to more effectively increase our capacity to develop and implement projects related to our vision.
We are therefore pleased to announce that, after working closely with West Creek Conservancy for all these years, both organizations agreed to merge our operations. WCC has long seemed the best choice to partner with, due to the organization’s shared focus on greenway and trail development, its ability to acquire and conserve property, its greater financial capacity, and that the watershed it represents is adjacent to Big Creek’s.
After several years of negotiations, we plan for the merger to take effect in January 2025. BCC will become a division of WCC, and our board will become a committee with advisory and oversight responsibilities on projects and programs related to Big Creek, including those that are currently in effect. BCC Vice Chair Garrett Ormiston, as a member of the committee, will also join WCC’s Board of Directors.
The committee will monitor Big Creek trail and greenway development, ongoing conservation and restoration efforts, and community outreach and engagement programs. Bob Gardin, BCC’s Executive Director, will become a Program Manager, working with WCC staff continuing to develop and implement these same efforts.
We are pleased to share with you some of this past year’s accomplishments in this report and how they will continue into the new year.
Big Creek Connects’ Board and staff are deeply grateful for the support we’ve received over the years. We encourage you to continue to support us as we merge with West Creek Conservancy and work together to fulfill our founding mission more effectively in the years ahead.
https://preview.mailerlite.com/n3s6t9a0a7/2647379529827358456/n1u9/
Terry Schwarz design has addressed the train track conflict https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1tLvhImXlD8w85qCZ9lIujWeujVsrVjg5JxQ7POJ27DA/edit?usp=sharing