To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: Julie Lucido, Public Works Director
Prepared By: Ian Heid, Senior Civil Engineer
TITLE:
Title
Napa Valley Transportation Improvement Act (Measure U) - 5-Year Project List
LABEL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendation
Adopt a resolution (1) approving the 5-Year Project List under the Measure U Program, (2) authorizing the Public Works Director to file the 5-Year Project List with NVTA-TA, and (3) determining that the actions authorized by this resolution are exempt from CEQA.
Body
DISCUSSION:
At the General Election held on November 5, 2024, the voters of Napa County approved the Napa Valley Transportation Improvement Act, a ½-cent sales tax known as Measure U. The Measure U sales tax replaces the previous tax under the Measure T Program, with a portion of the proceeds distributed to the City of Napa as detailed in Ordinance No. 24-01 of the Napa Valley Transportation Authority - Tax Agency (NVTA-TA).
Effective July 1, 2025, Measure U will replace Measure T. Measure U does not increase the sales tax rate. The new ordinance will now allow expenditures for the development of regional traffic capacity projects, increased administrative costs, the sale of bonds for project financing, and reset the distribution formulas for funding to local agencies for street maintenance. With the expanded expenditures, the revenue to the City of Napa during this 5-year Project List period is projected to be $600,000 less annually than what was received under Measure T. After fiscal year 2029/2030, NVTA has the option to obtain bond financing to support regional traffic capacity projects which would have a greater reduction on the future revenue allocated to the City of Napa for street maintenance.
Measure U funds that are distributed to the local agencies are to be used for paving, maintenance, reconstruction, and/or rehabilitation of streets, roads, and transportation infrastructure within the public right-of-way including but not limited to: sidewalks, curb and gutters, curb ramps, lighting, traffic signage, striping, local roadway drainage, and intelligent transportation systems. A new provision under Measure U also allows up to 5% of the local agency’s allocation to be used for capital improvement transportation projects.
The 5-Year Project List will be submitted to the Measure U Independent Taxpayer’s Oversight Committee for review and recommendation for adoption by the NVTA-TA Board. The Project List will be updated biennially and as needed to accurately reflect the City’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP) intents, schedules, and budgets as related to expenditure of the Measure U funds.
The proposed 5-Year Project List was developed to a) advance projects already underway, b) leverage grant funding and other external investments, c) focus on major corridors and neighborhoods with the most damage, and d) complete preventive maintenance. The City street crews also complete street maintenance work through addressing urgent repairs, filling potholes, repairing sidewalks and repaving streets throughout the community.
The development of an updated pavement management plan is underway and will identify pavement condition ratings for all City streets and propose treatments for the repair and maintenance of each street. The plan will include a focus on preventive maintenance techniques to preserve existing street investments and extend the lifespan of pavement. These techniques include crack-sealing, surface seals, slurry seals, and cape seals. The future CIP street repair work will continue to include traffic safety improvements for all users including pedestrians, bicyclists, and persons with disabilities.
The current project list includes improvements for the Five-Way Intersection Project which will reconfigure the roadway to improve safety and operations. This project complies with the 5% allowance in Measure U for capital improvement transportation projects.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS:
There is no general fund impact associated with the proposed action to approve the Measure U 5-Year Project List. The 5-Year Project List documents the current and planned future programming of Measure U funds. Additional actions are required to approve the CIP budgets to allocate funding.
CEQA:
The Public Works Director has determined that the Recommended Action described in this Agenda Report is not in-and-of-itself a “project” (pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378) since it does not result in a physical change in the environment.
However, the Recommended Action is a part of a larger “project” that will be subject to environmental review in accordance with CEQA at the “earliest feasible time” prior to “approval” consistent with CEQA Guidelines Sections 15004 and 15352. The larger “project” is future Capital Improvement Projects, and staff plans to bring back a CEQA analysis of each project to Council prior to approval of each project.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
ATCH 1 - Resolution
EX A - Updated Measure U 5-Year Project List
NOTIFICATION:
None